The Love You're Given
by Applesauce1110
Summary: I cover my pain with humor, the past I bury with bones. And my love? Doesn't come easily. So, if you don't love what you're given, then at least let me know. (Gwen played by Vanessa Hudgens; will eventually become AU)
1. Getting Out

I met - _them -_ in my Sophomore year.

 **February 21, 2005**

"And _you_ are officially discharged," smiled Amy. Her face seemed brighter with that smile even with tears in her eyes. "Give me a hug, babe!"

Her arms spread open wide and engulfed me, I tensed for a moment before remembering, this was Amy. A good nurse and an even better friend. My arms wrapped around her as tight as I could. I felt the tears on the top of my head and a soft sob. "Hey," I try to comfort in a small voice. "I'll be fine, I'm just going to be a four-hour drive away. You have my number, Dad's, and everything." She laughs at this.

"I'm not crying because I'm sad, sweetie. I'm crying cause now you can finally get out of here... you can live your life as a regular kid." Her dark skinned hand went to my cheek and I fell into it. My eyes started to water as I give her my biggest smile.

"You didn't think you could leave without saying goodbye to us, did you?" I looked behind me to see two of the most important people who had been integral in my recovery. There was Lin, a beautiful Korean woman with small eyes and heart-shaped face, her black hair put up in its normal bun. She was not only my CNA but my therapist. Then there was Scott, with dark brown hair and a beard; was my physical therapist his hands holding a small box. "A 'glad you got better' gift. From all of us," he tells me, placing the lilac purple box in my hand. I sniffle a bit, balancing the box in one to hand to use the other to wipe my nose.

"Go on, open it!" laughed Lin, her dark brown eyes filled with tears, tissues gripped tightly in her hands. With a little help, I sat down in a chair and carefully opened the present to only be welcomed by the box of a camera. A small Sony Cyber-Shot. I gasped looking at them, even more tears in my eyes if possible.

"You guys," I whined, hand over my mouth so I wouldn't make any more embarrassing noises. A gaggle of arms was wrapped around me. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but it was a while. A throat was cleared and I looked up to Scott.

"It's time to go, your majesty," Amy announces in a croaky voice. A wheelchair is placed in front of me from a side hallway. One I have had the (dis)pleasure of using for the four years I've been in Seattle, but this time there were balloons tied to the arms of the chair with congratulations written on them. I wobble over to it, a smile on my face.

In front of me is my godfather. Though with a recent DNA test shows me to be genetically his. Charlie Swan's. He's been there for me, way before I was ever even thought about being his own daughter. Dad came all the way from Forks to Miami when I was admitted to the ICU. He was always there. Whether it was over the laggy Skype Calls or taking vacation time he had stored up for years to visit for a week or so. He made sure to let me know I was never alone. He was my dad for all intents and purposes, and I called him as such before I ever knew we shared the same blood.

"Would you mind if I...?" Dad asks, pointing at the wheelchair. Amy moves so Dad can take the handlebars of the wheelchair and start pushing me down the hallways. I see polite waves from other nurses and patients who have known me for my infamously long time spent here, and we soon get into the elevator with Amy, Lin, and Scott. Hitting the bottom floor, I start looking more at the camera, hoping to get a better feel for it than my Polaroid (film costs _a lot_ of money, just so you're aware).

Soon enough we stopped in front of a police cruiser, and hugs were given one last time. As I entered the cruiser and Dad came to the driver's side. I waved telling them I'll be good and do all of my exercises as needed.

"To Forks, we go," huffed the officer, as we head onto the freeway. "You'll love it there Gwen, lots of trees, grass, there's a beach not too far away we can go swimming at, you remember it?" I laid my head back and just watched the old man babble on about the things we could do, the places he'll take me. My eyes wandered while my ears listened, looking at the lush green that reminded me of pamphlets to luxurious forests. I wasn't going to be living in a city any longer, I wouldn't be moving from one hospital to another.

I was going to be, a normal teenager.

Well, as normal as you can get by being the new kid in small-town Forks, Washington. And when I meant small, I meant it was actually small. Forks only had the population above three thousand. Less than three hundred kids in the school alone. Even the school in the Children's hospital had more than that (sadly). But, I was going to a regular school. No one was going to have a respirator or IV drips. No one was going to be like me and it made me a bit nervous. Excited but nervous.

I didn't realize, I fell asleep. Not till Dad shook my a bit a small smile on his face. "Gwen, sweetie, we're here." I blinked the sleep from my eyes and unbuckled before looking at the house. It was a two bedroom, one bathroom, two-story house. White. The pictures that were shown to me, didn't do it justice. It was perfect.

With some help and a steady hand, I got up the stairs and opened the two front doors. It had that clean citrus smell with oil, no doubt from Dad's cleaning of both the house and guns. The brown walls were decorated with pictures, some of Dad when he went fishing with Billy and Harry, others being Bella, my half-sister(it feels weird just _thinking_ about it). But the majority, the majority of them were the days he was with me. Anywhere from him and I out shopping (with a nurse present) and some of just us in my hospital room, posing for a picture, bunny ears being the most prominent occurrence, adding to the other photos of other family members in them. Though my ultimate favorite by far would have to be the baby picture he had of me. I was nestled in his arms and he was smiling, so wide it looked like his face would permanently stay that way. He was happy and I think... I was too.

Walking past them mad the smile on my face to stretch till we get to the kitchen/dining room. "So, till you are a hundred percent able to get up and down stairs." Dad trails off, sitting me on a seat next to the dining table, my large suitcase already there, he must have brought it in before waking me. My thoughts were short-lived once he began to move over to the wooden staircase and flipped some kind of switch on the wall. I lean a bit to get a better look at whatever was making the grating noise, was a chairlift that went up and down the steps.

"You think of everything, don't you?" I smile. I balance on my legs as much as possible before Dad can help me over to the white faux leather chair with creme stitching.

"Alright, you just gotta buckle this up, won't go anywhere otherwise," he explains, giving me the seat belt and helping me strap myself in at the waist. "And then," he pressed a little button on the arm of the chair, making it head upwards. "you are on your way!" I laugh at his theatrics and he smiles back. I look up the stairs nearly to the landing already, nearing my own room. At the top of the stairway, it jolts to a stop. I unbuckle myself and hold onto the wall in order to stand, my legs wobbly like a baby calf coming out of the womb for the first time. In less than two seconds, Dad's right next to me and helping me to room on the left side of the house, where _my_ room is. Mine. I'm not sharing it with anyone and I can decorate it the way I want. I already had the color of the walls I wanted; I picked it out a long time ago when Dad got guardianship of me and decided that this would be my room after Grandpa Swan passed.

The light from the window reflects the light blue very nearly grey colored walls. They were blank, just waiting for my own personal touches to be placed on them. I had a purple comforter - my favorite color for a long time, and it was queen sized. Something I had desperately been asking for since the gurneys and hospital beds are all twin sized. (I tended to thrash in my sleep making that an uncomfortable experience)

There was a desk near the window where a pretty black laptop sat, an old gift from Old Quil for my sixteenth birthday. Over to the right side of the desk was a bookcase filled with all the literature I've acquired, from manuals to manifestos to poems. And next to that is a small closet, one that could fit all of my clothes and then some. I would probably have to go shopping. Sweatpants and t-shirts wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't in front of other teenagers who were more than likely fashion savvy. Unlike yours truly.

"How do you like it?" Dad knocked me out of my thinking, causing me to come back to the present.

"It's perfect," I breathed out. Moving to the bed with a stumble, bouncing lightly on it in a sitting position. My back then flopped on the bed, arms spreading out. "Definitely perfect." I smiled widely, picking my head up to see my dad there, the widest smile on his face.

"There is... just one more thing." He puts a finger up, walking to the desk. Opening one of the drawers, he pulls out a folder and hands it to me. I slowly sit up, grabbing the folder and opening it. In it was quite a few papers but the one on top was the most important one possible.

I start to read aloud. "As of February 18th, 2005, the State of Washington and Federal Courts hereby accepts the adoption of Gwendolyn Marie Abendorth to Charlie Dean Swan!" I nearly screech, looking up at the man; not completely sure if this was some form of a cruel joke or not.

"You are officially mine now, kiddo." I jumped up faster than I thought possible; arms going around his neck.

"Today's been the best day ever," I whisper, tears streaming down my face. I then let go and hit his chest. "The eighteenth?! It's been nearly a week!"

Dad laughs, arms tight around my shoulders as he helps me back to the bed. "You'll still be an Abendorth for a while yet, but we have added Swan on there. So, Gwendolyn Marie Abendorth-Swan, what will your first meal out of the hospital be?"

My answer was immediate and we were back in the car before we knew it.

I don't like people pushing my wheelchair, but it is fun when someone's running with it like the sheriff is to get out of the rain. I didn't mind one bit, the rain was something I rarely got to touch out of my controlled climate room. He used his back to open the door in order to get my chair in the Infamous Restaurant Dad frequents.

"Well, if it isn't the cutie herself!" exclaimed a woman. I turned to the noise, a waitress with dark skin and curly hair make her way to us. "I haven't seen you since you were yay-high, Gwendolyn," she tells me placing her hand on her knees. "Nice to see your doing better, sugar, Charlie has been talking about you ever since the doctors gave him the discharge date."

"Gwen, this is Cora, probably don't remember her, you were two." I can hear the smirk behind me if that was even possible.

"It's great to see you again, Cora."

"You must be famished, come on, let's get you a table." I'm pushed to a nearby table where a chair is taken from and placed to the side so it could just be the two of us. "Here are your menus, though I don't think we'll need it for Charlie," she says with a smile, giving an all-knowing look at him. "But I'll be back in five minutes, can I get you anything to drink?"

"Milk, please?" I smile, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Make that two," Dad says. She nods and heads back while I read over it. "Remember, soft food for just a bit longer."

I roll my eyes. "I know, I know. They did say try some hard ones, so I was thinking of a compromise." I look up at my menu to see dark brown eyes looking straight at me, a raised eyebrow in question. "What about waffles with butter on them, but!" I stop him from speaking. "I put some syrup on them to make it a bit soggy?"

He gives a sigh, closing his menu. "Alright, but if you can't eat it, we'll get you some broth, sound good?"

Dinner went off without a hitch, besides the bit where Waylon - my mom and thought-to-be-father's old friend - luckily he didn't speak about my parents but alluded to them being shit at their jobs. I couldn't have agreed more with the statement, even though I didn't say that aloud.

As soon as we paid and said bye to everyone, garnering hugs and kisses on the cheek with words of encouragement and congratulations we left the local diner.

The drive back was quiet besides the light static of the police scanner. Pulling into the driveway I noticed... a little something. Well, a lot of somethings. There were cars packed onto our block as if someone was having a party. I looked over at Dad who was just trying not to laugh. His eyes held a false-innocence. He shrugged his shoulders to contribute to the act before exiting the car.

"You're a butt, you know that?" I tell him, getting out of the car by myself and holding onto the frame of it. He only laughs and takes me by the arm again to help me. I'm practically carried up the steps by my waist and I just give Dad 'the look' before opening the door.

"WELCOME HOME!" a chorus of voice cheered. In the small house, was packed with people. Most of the kids holding noisemakers and ripping out others eardrums. I smile and shake my head.

"All of you? You suck," I laugh, I maneuver around the people to get to our couch, people moving from it to allow me to sit. I look around the room and see Billy across trying to contain his laughter. "Hey old man," I tease. "Not so special now, are you? Yeah, I got one of those chairs too." This causes some laughter to course through the room once more.

I look around to see the familiar faces that have come to see me in recent time. There was Billy Black, my biological-uncle and a Native American man who had become wheelchair bound in recent years due to diabetes, Jacob tagging along who's his youngest child and only son. I looked at the young teen and see some new details. His ebony hair must have been recently cut because it was definitely longer the last time I saw it instead of at the bottom of his ribs it was at his collarbone. His signature beanie atop of his head.

Old Quil, Quil, and Joy were there (grandfather and grandson respectively). Old Quil wasn't afraid of his grey hair and let it grow long, braiding in in a few places, his russet skin starting to wrinkle. Quil kept his short since he played sports on the reservation and Joy had dreadlocks that were typically pulled back into a ponytail.

The next family was the Clearwaters. Leah and Seth at the forefront and Harry and Sue sitting in the recliner together. All native with Sue and Leah with the longest hair. Harry's had gone grey _long_ before any of us were born and he cropped it to his shoulders and swept it back with a fisherman's cap. Seth's reached his shoulders but he typically had it in a bun at the nape of his neck.

Next was the Calls, like the Black's there were only two of them. But instead of a father, it was Tiffany, the overbearing mother to all of the tribe. She's a sweetheart who had long black hair that was always in two braids and Embry, her son. His hair was longer than everyone's as it reached his hips, the natural curls framing his face. Both of them also native, if you haven't seen the pattern yet.

"It's nice to see you again." Jacob hugged me sideways from his spot on the couch, ending up just having his arm over my shoulder for the time being.

"You mean, outside of a hospital and IV-less?" I asked, earning a small chuckle.

"Something like that," he smirked. I rolled my eyes and leaned further into the teen.

"So," I hear a feminine voice speak. "We may have gotten you a little something..." I look over to where Sue is, ready to cry, happiness. I realize. Happy tears.

"Sue..." I start to argue.

"It's nothing _too_ bad," Old Quil spoke up, Quil(the young one of the two) took out a wrapped present from the kitchen, heaving it to my feet.

"Eh, you'll like it." My hands roam the box with a straight-face and a little bit of mock-madness. I tear the wrapping paper and look the box over, letting my jaw drop.

"Oh my god," I gasp out, earning more laughter from my reaction. "A mini fridge?!"

"That way you don't have to go up and down the stairs for a snack or drink," Leah tells me with a smile. "You can just put them all in there."

"I need a hug!" I call out, earning most of the teen's arms to wrap around me in tight grips.

The start of my stay at Forks, was just going to get better.


	2. New Day, New People

I was practically bouncing in my seat in a form of anticipation. I was going to school, there were going to be people just plain out staring at me. There was going to be people asking me 'Why aren't you on the reservation?'. But more importantly. I was going to go to a _real_ school. I was going to have some friends that won't forget me when they leave. I was going to learn in the an environment specifically _made_ to learn.

"Calm down there, gonna wear yourself out before you even get to your first class." I look over to the man, full in his sheriff uniform for work today once he dropped me off.

"I can't, I haven't been to a real school since I was like six, let me have this!" I shook his arm with a humorous laugh that ricocheted within the car. Pulling up to the school, one that you wouldn't have even dared to think that it was one if not for the sign. It wasn't your typical 'one building, multiple classrooms' deal. It was a bunch of houses, or it looked like it. Lined up on sidewalks and labeled. The only reason you'd know it's for learning and not living is the sign the clearly reads 'Home of the Gladiators, Forks High School'.

"Well, we're here, got everything?" I nodded, unbuckling before he could even park in front of the Main Office. I open the door, swinging my legs out and wobbling my way to the trunk, holding onto the car's frame for the entirety of the little trip. Opening the trunk, I'm met with my back pack and forearm crutches, I placed my back pack on both shoulders before wrapping the crutches around my wrists with the Velcro. Your typical looking Sheriff came around the car and gave a smile just as I closed the trunk.

"I got this, Dad. I know I do," my reassurance doesn't seem to help the eyes from tearing up. I put one arm around him, hugging him to me as tight as possible while my other balanced me. Both of his arms wrapped around my waist to bring me in closer and he sniffled into my hair.

"I know, just... let me worry about you, wouldn't be a good Dad if I didn't." We let go and I received a watery smile. "Now, have a good first day of school." I started moving to the office, sparing a single look to watch my dad wave before turning to his car and heading to work. I hit the button that automatically opens the door for the disabled and go to the desk where a woman with greying red hair who looks to be eagerly waiting.

"Miss Swan, a pleasure to meet you!" she puts her hand out once I get a stable grip on my left crutch to bring my right hand up to shake it back. "I'm Miss Cope, you can come to me whenever you need something. Now," she starts getting a folder out, opening it to take out separate pieces of paper. "Right here I have all your schedule, your first hour will be British Literature, here on this map I highlighted the fastest ways to get to your classes." She looked a little timid before saying her next part. "Is there a wheelchair you may have?"

"I do," I answer. "But I only use it on my _really_ bad days. I've gotten better, enough to just use my crutches."

"Nothing to worry about dear," she replies. "But if you _do_ need a wheelchair we have one in stock or if you'd rather your own we'd gladly let you use the school's phones to contact your father." She looks back to the schedule in my hand and starts pointing with her pen. "As for your third hour gym period we'll be having you do your physical therapy exercises unless the class for the day is doing something simple and non-strenuous. Beginner yoga, for example. You'll have to speak to Coach Clapp about that. Otherwise, you should be all set. Lunch is right after fourth hour and then you only have two more classes afterwards. Only thing you have to do is show up to class and allow them to sign this. Any questions?"

I shook my head. "No ma'am. You have a nice day." I smile, taking the paper out of her hands and start for the door, hearing her call behind me to also have a nice day.

I look down at my schedule to try and remember the order it's in.

 **Period 1: British Literature, Bruer, Building 4, Room 12**

 **Period 2: Spanish III, Goff, Building 6, Room 26**

 **Period 3: General Fitness, Clapp, Building 1, Gymnasium**

 **Period 4: Calculus, Building 5, Room 20**

 **Lunch: Canteen (Off campus)**

 **Period 5: Biology II, Banner, Building 5, Room 19**

 **Period 6: AP US History, Brown, Building 2, Room 5**

As I'm making it down the sidewalk, trying not to trip over the cracks in the sidewalk. It's not to long before a voice calls behind me. "Hey!" I turn my head to see a guy, his face sheen with oil and acne and black hair that messily sit on his face. His eyes slanted and mono-lid. "I'm Eric, you must be Gwendolyn Swan, right?"

"Just Gwen," I correct. And give a slight smile at him - no way am I going to correct him on my last name.

"Gwen! Front page for our high school newspaper!" he spreads his hands out as if my name will be in shining lights. I lightly laugh at his antics. Me? On the paper? Not a fan.

"I'm not front page material, but thank you anyways." I finally spot the doors and go to open it.

"Nah, you definitely are. What class do you have?"

"British Literature, with Bruer."

"Oh let me open this for you!" Eric said, getting in my way and nearly causing me to fall when the door opens to fast. "Bruer's a cool gal," he continues the conversation. "You'll have fun, now I have Economics so I'll see you at lunch?" he waved. So far everyone seemed really friendly. But then again, there was only two people I've met, one of them being a faculty member. I nodded to the Asian teen before stepping into the doors that'd let me to the next class. There was a thing of hangers, a coat rack. I declined to take my own off considering I'd have to take _everything off_ and then put _everything back on_.

When entering the class room I handed the pink slip to Ms. Bruer, her smile and friendly blue eyes being a welcomed sight for my first hour.

"We'll be reading the third act of Macbeth today," Ms. Bruer announces. "Ms. Swan, your welcomed to join us if you want, but in no way do I expect you to take the test." I shook my head at her words as I head to the directed desk in the back room, right next to a wall of books and a girl with pale blonde hair sat on my other side.

"That's not a problem, Ms. Bruer," I tell her. "I've read the play before. I'll just reread it on my spare time before the test."

Ms. Bruer looked shocked at this proclamation. Almost as if it was unheard of. I mentally laughed at this. "Well, if you want you can choose a book from my little library." I nodded, reaching my arm to trail across the books spines, finally coming to one I was familiar with but haven't had a moment to read. _The Picture of Dorian Gray._ I slip it from the other books and open to the first page.

"Pst," I hear from my side. The girl next to me offered a smile. "Hey, I'm Lauren." Pushing her hair back to her other shoulder she swiftly put it on the other. "I like your shoes," she compliments. I look at them and back at her ready to say thank you. "But those pants would look better in the trash." My mouth closed before I could utter a word.

"Um... thank you," I say in more of a question. She turns back to her book and begins reading once more. I was mildly offended at the comment considering I only had three pairs of jeans. Once class was finished, I hurried my way to Building 6, not realizing how long it'd take me to put all my things away and put my crutches back on.

Second hour was Spanish III. Walking in (Crutching in?) earned me quite a bit of whispers and finger pointing. Mrs. Goff seemed a bit put off with my arrival but didn't make a _huge_ deal of it. "Ah, _señorita Swan, placer conocerte_." I only nod in response to 'her pleasure of meeting me' when handing her the pink slip for her turn to sign the thing. "Alright, I'm going to have you sit next too..." she peered around the room, trying to find the best spot for me. " _Señor Cullen_! Will you raise your hand for _señorita Swan por favor?_ " she exclaimed. I turned to the side of the room she exclaimed at, looking over to where the teen - _man -_ sat at with his forearm raised and giving a slight wave. He had bronze hair that stood up on end and golden eyes, pale skin, just like snow. His jaw was angled and strikingly chiseled. But his eyes. His eyes made me stop for a second, very nearly taking my breath away. I finally get the strength to move my arms and legs and make my way to the seat next to his.

The rest of the hour is filled with a work sheet and this Senor Cullen kept glancing over at me, it seemed like he had never seen someone with crutches, not like the ones I have. And maybe he hasn't. It was a possibility, this town is incredibly small.

Third hour, gym, wasn't as smooth. After attendance, I go to the wall where I place my hands at shoulder level and start stretching my legs. I had a little help with Coach Clapp but besides that I could hear the whispers. This class wasn't exactly as subtle with their whispers like my previous two were.

But I did gain a friend from this class. "Hello?" a voice asked behind me, as I swung one of my legs, standing on the other. It was trembling. I looked behind my shoulder, refusing to stop. The girl speaking to me had honey brown hair and inviting brown eyes. She was _very_ tall, maybe over five foot ten? She could very well be six foot, now that I look better. She wore the same gym uniform as everyone else and seemed almost timid.

"Hi, can I help you?" I ask, as politely as possible.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could do that for you? Help you, I mean. Be a spotter, or something?" I stop at this. I turn around fully to look at her. Help me? The coach didn't even want to help me. And with my legs as they are, it was a welcomed gesture.

"I... I would like that." In return I got a smile and a friend. Angela.

Luckily, mathematics was my best subject. I'm really lucky with that fact considering there was so many people struggling. This was my first class with mostly upperclassmen. But after this year, I'll take some college courses at University of Washington, get some extra credits there.

But Mrs. Ryan wasn't there today. But a sub, Mrs. Jackson was, and she seemed to always talk. When I first entered the room she immediately began asking me what happened. I told her I had malunion with a severe bacterial infection that had set in a few years back. She gave me a look of pity and started some kind of story that led to another story, that led to another story, it seemed none of them got finished and we didn't receive a worksheet or page numbers to take home.

Once the bell everyone was waiting for went off, I politely waited till I could get out of the door and into the halls.

Then it was lunch, and the stares continued as I enter the Canteen. Not cafeteria, Canteen. The hall went pretty quiet and I felt pretty awkward about it all and just tried to ignore the stares and whispers. I walked to the lunch line where the trays were and picked one up. I only used one crutch to put my weight on and then I piled the tray with foods like bread and lettuce. I had a little bit of some cooked chicken and a carton of milk. By the time I was done and looking for a seat, most of the whispers were done but I kept getting some side-long glances.

"Gwen!" the familiar voice of Angela rang out. I see her standing, waving her arm about. I grin, making my way over, trying to ignore the small stares still being given to me. She pulls out a chair next to her in which I sit in. I place my tray down before taking off my crutches and then my back pack. Laying them under the table so no one would trip over the metal. "So, how's first day going?"

"Alright, despite the whispers and stares," I try to joke. She buys it with a giggle.

"So this is the elusive Gwendolyn Swan?" asks a bright blue-eyed boy with blonde hair that seems to all stick up in a meticulously planned faux-hawk. Next to him is a muscular but lean Asian male, with small slanted eyes and wide lips. His black hair flicked to the side with practiced ease and a small smile seemed to be a permanent feature.

"Just call me Gwen, easier that way for everyone," I correct.

"I'm Mike, right here is Ben." he smiles at me, gesturing to the guy next to him. "This is Jessica, Tyler, Lauren, and Eric." Jessica has light brown hair, blue eyes, and a tint of orange to her skin with a low cut baby pink top. Tyler wore a baggy grey hoodie and had dark skin and cropped hair to his scalp. All the while Lauren looked nearly ready to skin anyone and everyone alive, did something happen between first hour and now? Her brown hair was being brushed with her fingers and her eyes pierced mine in a way they didn't previously. Like she knew all of my secrets. While Eric, I had seen earlier and had change little if at all.

"Gwen already met me this morning, Micheal." Eric smirks, sitting in his chair across from me.

"She's my home girl."

"That is so not fair!" Mike laughs while scooting his chair closer to the one I was in. I felt lips press across my cheek, almost in a sloppy like manner and watch as the same person took Mike's chair out from under him.

"My girl!" Tyler laughs after giving me the kiss, running off before Mike and Eric go chasing after him, laughter leaving in their wake.

"Well, seems like you're the shiny new toy," Lauren speculates, her face one of smugness and her sun-kissed hair being brushed back messily with fingers once more, giving me a masked sneer.

"Third grade all over again," says Jessica, a smile warming onto her face.

"Who would want the crippled?" I joke again, trying to get them from doing anything that'd make my high school career turn to shit before I see Jessica staring behind me, mouth gaping.

"Did you try talking to Edward already or...?" she trailed off, completely dismissing my joke. My eyebrows came together and I gave her a look of confusion.

"Edward? Edward who?"

"Oh my gosh, you haven't heard of the Cullens?" Lauren practically hissed. I leaned away, picking at my food with eyes wide open. What did I do? Was it bad that I haven't heard of these Cullens? Well I know the legends from my tribe, but Cullen is a pretty common name, isn't it?

"Uh, should I have?"

"Yes, they're all... weird!" whispers Jessica, her voice going lower on the last word.

"Why'd you say that?" I start to turn to look at them but Jessica takes the side of my face and stops me from turning my gaze at them.

"Don't look, they're still staring."

"Well then, I'll ask them to stop...?"

"Okay listen. They're all _together."_ The pale blonde whispers, she keeps glancing over my shoulder at the family, she bites her bottom lip in some kind of manner - if it was sexual or nerves I wouldn't have been able to tell you. "Like Rosalie, she's the _ultra_ blonde one - like I heard she gets her hair done every week in Seattle by the same person who does Lady Gaga's - she's extremely pretty and is with Emmett, the huge burly one, I'm pretty sure he gets steroids from his dad."

"And Alice," Jessica picks up after her friend. "She's the small weird one, anorexic. She's with Jasper, who looks to always be in pain. I mean I'm not even sure that's legal! Plus they act really weird and don't associate with anyone outside of their 'clique'," she mock-whispers.

"Oh come on," Angela finally speaks up. "They're not actually related." She turns over to me. "Doctor Cullen and his wife were foster parents, they then decided to adopt Alice, Edward, and Emmett, but Jasper and Rose are twins, they're Mrs. Cullen's niece and nephew."

"Okay wait, so you haven't spoken to any of the Cullens?" Jessica asks, trying to get the full scoop. I ripped her hand from my face and turned to the 'infamous' Cullens, seeing some of their heads turn last second. I can easily distinguish all of them through the brief description given to me.

The blonde one - Rosalie - her hair was a darling blonde, one you couldn't just buy at the salon ran down to her mid back and undeniably had to be Aphrodite in the flesh. Next to her was a bulking man, his black hair cropped and curly - Emmett. Alice was small, smaller than me in fact! Definitely an achievement. Her hair was an inky black pixie cut and stood up on end. Jasper - the one to be in agonizing pain, was there with chin length blonde hair, sitting nearly ramrod straight next to his uneaten food. Lastly was Senor Cullen, who just watched as his family spoke to each other. I turn back to the other girls with an exasperated expression. The one thing I did notice was how _pale_ they all were.

"The only one I've even had a _brief_ interaction is the one with the auburn hair...?" I say in more of a questioning tone, gesturing of my own hair as if to make it like his, standing nearly straight up.

"Edward?!" Jessica gasped. "No way, what did he say?!" she said in a hushed voice.

"I-I nothing," I answer, taken aback. "We just sit next to each other in Spanish."

"So you didn't ask any him out?" Lauren says almost disbelieving, mostly hopeful.

"No!" I was already tired of the topic. "From what you've told me, you barely know them, I _definitely_ don't know them."

"But to sleep with your sister or brother?" Lauren tuts.

I shrug. "They're not actually related, right?" I turn to Angela for confirmation and she nods. "So it's all okay. It's probably supervised by Dr. And Mrs. Cullen."

"So you haven't spoken to Edward?" whispered Jessica, a look of self-entitled important in her posture and tone.

I take a deep breath to control my bubbling anger. "No, I haven't."

"Good," Lauren smirks. "He doesn't date anyone, no one here's good enough for him. Not even me apparently. Like I care," she scoffs, flipping her hair over her shoulder and fluttered her eyelashes at someone behind me. I can only guess who.

"Lauren asked him out for homecoming last year and for winter ball, he said no both times." Angela laughed a tiny bit at the sake of her friend.

"Maybe he's just not into the dating scene. Or he likes someone else, you never know," I propose.

"What, like you?" Lauren snaps at me. My eyes widen at her hostility.

"I never-"

"Whatever, I lost my appetite." Lauren stands grabbing her tray and walking off, Jessica following at her heels, shooting death glares over her shoulder.

"Well, there goes making friends," I huff, putting my head in my hands. I felt a hand rubbing my back.

"You stuck up for them, I don't think many do," Angela tells me in a low voice, her head nodding to the table behind us. I give a small smile back; returning to my meal.

The bell went off signaling for us to get to our second to last class in the day. Angela was kind enough to help me pick up my things and put them back on my person. She then directed me to building five which wasn't to far off but was strangely placed after three.

"Ah! Gwendolyn!" practically screams the teacher. "I'm Mr. Banner." I hand him the note he's supposed to sign, receiving a small smile in return.

"Just, Gwen," I reply quietly, while students filter in from lunch.

He nods in response. "I'll give this back to you at the end of class, why don't you sit next to Mr. Cullen, he's in the third row on the right." I look over the row of black-table tops that are known for science classes and see the man that Lauren and Jessica must have been upset about. Same guy who I sit next to in Spanish. Edward?

I make my way over, slipping my crutches off and putting them between my legs so it's easier to shrug off my backpack. I let it fall onto the counter top and bring out my blue folders for the class. I see Edward(I'm not even sure if that's his actual name) keeping glancing and then moving his eyes away. I start by opening up my notebook and get ready to take some notes.

"Hello," says a velvet like voice. Kind of reminded me of melted chocolate if we're going to be honest. If chocolate could have a voice...I turn in my seat a little to see the pale man with a small smile on his face. "I'm Edward Cullen, it's nice to meet you Gwen."

I smile back, grabbing my science folder out along with my notebook. "Uh, yeah, you too." Am I stupid? 'Yeah, you too'?

He grins and turns to his own notebook, clearly the air was stifling with the awkwardness I had cause. Once we finally get our worksheet and am I able to get to work do I only get my signature-paper back from Mr. Banner. I watch the clock as I shakily write down my answers due to my weaning off of pain medication, I kept seeing Edward look at me from the corner of his eye, but he doesn't say anything about the trouble I'm having with my hands which is a really nice change of pace. But he still keeps glancing over. It makes it just a _bit_ unsettling.

Once it's two minutes till class is over(a new strategy of mine to get out of class on time), I start putting my stuff away. I place my bag around my shoulders before wrapping my crutches around my wrists once more. By the time the bell rings I'm out of the door faster than the other kids and heading to my sixth hour, last one of the day.

"Gwendolyn!" exclaimed Mr. Brown. "A pleasure to meet you, you've been the talk of the school!" I cringed at the thought before forcing a smile and getting closer, pulling the pink slip from my pocket.

"Uh, just call me, Gwen."

"Alright, Gwen!" this man was to enthusiastic for his own good. "If you can please sit in the right corner?" Handing me my pink slip I looked over to the part of the room he was referring too. Back right corner, closest one to the door. I silently thank him and head for the seat, letting the crutches slip under me and my backpack on my lap. The class went without a hitch, they were in the middle of the Industrial Revolution, and I had a bit of a ways to catch up but I don't think I'd have to big of a problem.

Mr. Brown earned some brownie points in my book by letting me leave three minutes early. I hobbled my way to the main office building, but stopped once I heard the hissing voices. I tried not to make me seem obvious as to being there and just went on my way. The ones practically sneering at one another was the short fairy, Alice Cullen and her brother Edward, my lab partner.

"Hello," I greet, trying to give type some semblance to being kind. Alice smiles at me and gave a little wave and Edward? He just glared at me, as if I did the worst thing possible to him. "Sorry to interrupt," I whisper nervously and decided to go a bit faster to get to the office, Edward's glower following my every step.

Ms. Cope seemed to have been expecting me, giving a wide smile and welcoming eyes. "Was everything alright, dear?" she asks. I nod and give a little smile.

"Yeah, just a regular high school day, right?"


	3. Absolution

The next two days at school became routine, the classes were very nearly a breeze. I eventually stopped being the school's main topic and became apart of the 'in-crowd'. I sat with the Juniors and a few Seniors, sophomores like myself came and went like a passing tide but most never stayed. The only other one staying would be Ben, but that's because he was best friends with Austin who was Jessica's cousin.

The only classes I ever seemed to have the slightest problem in was Spanish and Biology. Not because I was bad at it, oh no. But because that Edward guy? Just kept looking at me. Staring. So, I decided to take it up with him.

"Can I help you with something?" I ask, my voice more snooty than I was going for.

"I... no." He turned his attention back to the board and never spared me another glance.

"If you want to ask something, go for it," I tell him.

Spanish was done a few seconds after I made the last comment and I moved swiftly out of the room and to the parking lot. I know _many_ of the other kids are rude to the Cullens, they seemed nice and their father is the doctor at the General Hospital in Forks. They didn't get in trouble with the law but maybe, just maybe, they're so badly spoken about because of their lack of _common sense._

I left school early, Dad pulling up in Harry's 2002 Subaru WRX and moving to the passenger seat. I gave a grateful smile to the man, who only reciprocated. I put my crutches in the back of the car along with my book bag, but not before I could take out my wallet.

Waddling my way to the drivers seat I flop myself in the rippling cotton covers and buckle up, fixing my mirrors and going through all of the checks the Sheriff of Forks instilled in me before I even got my permit. "Alright," Dad started. "We're gonna go around Forks and then head for the DMV, sound good?" I nodded and changed gears moving us forward at a very specific amount of five miles-per-hour. Once on the street I went to fifteen and by the time we got on the highway that connected all of Forks we went to forty-five. The drive was quick and to the point, letting me know what to look out for and what I should not do, typical mistakes made by first time drivers.

I was wished good luck and an old woman with crazily permed hair came from around the counter and to the front, giving me a judgmental look. "You are cleared by your physical therapist?" she asked, seeming a little put off with the girl in crutches. Dad took something out of the brown folder from his large inside jacket pocket and handing her a thick stack of papers.

"Alright right here, Clarice. She's all set." 'Clarice' nodded and skimmed through the papers before handing it to her colleague.

"Have those confirmed for me please, if possible by the time we get back?" Her colleague just nodded before the elderly woman started stalking for the door. I try to get there at the same pace but slip a bit on the small patch of ice on the sidewalk. I don't fall but I do stumble. I eventually get into the Subaru's driver side and buckle, waiting for the other who takes her time.

"Let's see what you got Ms Swan."

I walked back into the DMV, a small forced frown on my face while I walk back over to Dad, he looks ready to give me a pity hug before I bring around the paper from my back. "I passed!" I squealed, falling into his arms. My gift is the wrapping around my back as well, and while Dad's not the _biggest_ fan of physical contact, it does make me happy he's pulled the card out for this moment.

We walked out of the DMV after getting my paper copy of my license. I bellowed how I'm driving from now on and got into the passenger seat with Dad rolling his eyes at my antics. Now it's time to return the car and get a job... preferably a desk one. I can't believe I want a desk job at sixteen. But the less standing I do, the less pain I'll be in when I go to bed.

Pulling up to my home's curb, I see more cars then there was before or should be there. One I recognize as Billy's truck in the driveway, but he shouldn't be here for another hour at least. He wanted to watch the Mariner game with Harry and Dad at four. I wonder if Harry brought his fish sticks?

I'm exiting the drivers side and grabbing all my stuff out while Dad has the keys from the ignition. I decide to be a bit risky and carry my crutches. If it I start to fall, the car would surely catch me. But to my surprise, I'm walking with little difficulty, I mean there's pain, no doubt about that! But I'm not walking like a baby deer. I have a limp that is more prominent in my right leg than my left but besides that I was walking alright.

"Gwen, what are you doing?!" Asked a familiar voice from the door. Coming out of the house is Jacob Emphriam Black.

"Would you look who decided to grace us with their presence?" I ask my dad in a comical voice, earning a laugh and hug from my cousin. "It feels like it's been _forever_!"

"Well, mid-terms are coming up, Lyn," he says in my hair; he knows that by using his nickname I'll forgive him in a literal second, before picking me up. This cause me to wrap my arms even tighter around his neck while he squeezed my waist. I feel like I'll be sore for a bit after he lets go but his hugs always made me feel better, so I don't say anything. "Once I get my Rabbit up and working I'll come to Forks whenever you want." I hear Dad clearing his throat and the tapping of metal. No doubt he's tapping at his badge. "When I get my license, of course." This causes the older of the two to laugh quietly. "Alright, now, can I please show her? Please? I've been dying to show her!" He whines still holding me up by the waist.

"Go for it, I'm gonna see if I can catch the beginning of the game," Dad gives us a funny look before heading inside. I was finally able to put my feet on the ground only to be spun in a one-eighty. In front of me was orange. And even more orange. Billy's Truck. The one he's had before Rachel and Rebecca were born.

"Reason why I haven't been able to visit you, is because I had to get this bad boy up and going again." Jacob slapped the hood with a smile wide on his face. "It's kind of an incentive to not give up, from both me, Dad, and Charlie."

I'm ready to cry. I'm going to cry. I squeal a bit, tugging his arm to help me over to the door. Once I was in front of it, I swung it open and slammed it shut soon after, feeling the dashboard and wheel. "This is perfect!" I turn to the passenger door, where Jacob is coming to sit next to me, producing a pair of keys from his pockets.

"Alright, just so you know, you do have to double clutch to shift gears and you shouldn't go over seventy with it, but besides that, this thing is all good and ready for driving." He brushes his hands on the gear shift, the dashboard, nearly any place his hands can reach too.

"You think Dad and Billy would get mad if we took this baby for a spin?" I smirk, looking at him from the corner of my eye.

"I think they'd be offended if we didn't," the man retorted. I changed gears and we sped out of the driveway and down the street, laughter being easily heard from anyone outside their homes. Once back home, we were all filled with laughter and fun, watching the Redsocks kickass, much to Dad's misery.

I think I felt a bit disappointed, I realized. I had built up the idea of high school on such a high pedestal that it didn't fit my expectations. I get why Dad hadn't wanted me to be so excited now. But it is what it is. It was very nearly the end of the day and since Mr. Brown left for an emergency, class was given a free period for the day. So Bio was my last class of the day unless I wanted to stay at the library. But I have a _truck_ now. A truck.

My own car.

I could go home and not stay till Harry got off of work at the mill. He could go straight home and not detour from La Push to pick me up.

I carefully drove into the parking lot, receiving looks of confusion as to who could possibly be driving it. No doubt thinking it's junk, but this thing has so much sentimental value to my family and me. I loved it.

I decided to park in a typically opened spot a few away from the van where almost everyone hangs out after school. I was getting out of the truck with a single crutch today, throwing my book bag over shoulder. People greeted me in the parking lot that Wednesday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I waved back and politely smiled at everyone.

All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I would feel by this point. More comfortable than I had ever expected to feel here, no one really made my leg such a big deal, nor did they speak of my fashion choices; as if understanding.

"I didn't know you were allowed to drive!" Mike enthusiastically tells me, soon followed by Ben and Angela meeting me in the middle from their typical morning hangout spot of Tyler Crowley's car. I knew him, basically just because of that kiss he placed on my cheek. It was uh, pretty gross to say the very least.

"I'm crippled," I tell him with a small smile. "Not paralyzed." I thought of my uncle and how that's one of the reasons why I have this truck now. "It's not the newest car on the block, but it's mine."

"It's _very_ you," Angela tells me, looking at the rusted exterior from afar. "It's classic, old-fashioned, and uniuqe."

Ben let out a laugh. "Yeah, old-fashioned. You calling Gwen a prude, Ang?"

Angela let out a small giggle. Almost flirtatious. "Oh knock it off, you know what I meant." She then slipped her arm through mine, which was a bit awkward because of the height difference but nothing to horrible. "You're only using one crutch today, any reason?"

"Just trying to strengthen my legs," I answer as we turn from the two boys, letting them follow behind us. "Did anything exciting happen after school?"

"Nah," Mike answers from behind me. "There was almost a car crash between Jessica and Lauren, they were trying to scare the other into moving and got a _bit_ too close to the other."

"I swear, they're like little kids," Ben bemoans.

"I'll hear all about it next hour," I tell him. "I sit right next to Lauren."

And I was right. Once we all scattered to our specified buildings, I got the whole detail from Lauren who just completely blamed it all on Jessica. On how if she had hit her car she'd make sure Jess would pay for any and all damages that happened - including emotional.

Class couldn't have been over soon enough as I made my way to Spanish II, in which I shared with Austin - he helped me to class. More or less. "Hey! How'd you like it?" he asks, which I can only assume he's talking about the movie he lent me - Metropolis.

"It's good, I'll make sure to give you it back tomorrow, sound good?" He nods and we separate in the halls, me moving to Spanish and him moving to French.

When I entered, most of the class was there minus a select few. One which was never at school, if what Ms. Goff said could be trusted and Edward.

We only did notes and played a game or two and then left for our next classes, which flew by almost unnoticably. Which was surprising because since I started, I found time could not move fast enough I guess. It always was slowing.

Once out of Calculas, it was lunch time. And it was snowing so heavily -not the light kind either, the sticky kind of snow that sat on the ground, just begging to be picked up and put in the form of a ball.

I was with Ben and Austin, hiding behind Tyler's van as him and Mike plus two others - I forgot their names - were against us. "I'll take left, you two take right?" I whispered. The both only had one snowball in hand while I had two.

Which I didn't understand why they both didn't have two, there was snow everywhere!

But we all agreed on the plan and I inched my way to the rearend of the van, peeking out. It's all it took for a single snowball to head my way. I narrowly missed it and heard a unsatisfied groan.

"That should have hit you!" one of the guys yelled - one of the unnamed ones.

"Well it didn't sooo," I answered, gripping the one in my right hand and getting ready to throw. I quickly stood, leaning on the van to keep balance and threw the snow at him with as much force as I could throw into it.

I missed by a good twenty feet. The teen had moved from where he originally was and I hit someone else - right in the back of his head.

"Oh my gosh," I said under my breath before walking quickly over to the untargeted source. "I am _so_ sorry!" I told the large man, brushing past the others. "I was trying to hit him and-" Next thing I know a glob of snow flicked my face, and Emmett Cullen was laughing his ass off. "Oh, it's on."

I picked up some snow and threw it directly at his face, this time hitting him in the nose instead of his back. I headed for safety but was hit once more - this time by the man's counterpart.

Laughter erupted from the parking lot and everyone started to hit everyone - not caring who got hit in their crossfire. Soon enough, teams were made again and more of the rest of the present Cullen family joined.

Emmett was the only Cullen on the opposing team while Mike and Ben joined Rosalie, Alice, and I. That was, until Principal Greene came.

"What do you think you're doing?!" He bellowed, entering the parking lot. "This isn't elementary school, you should all be acting like adults not children!" He ridiculed, making us march into the canteen. I was shaking the snow from my hair when Emmett made his way to me.

"Hey, thanks for joining. That was fun," I tell him, brushing my hair with my fingers. "And not getting mad when I hit you…"

"Yeah," he replied, his voice deep but playful. "It was fun."

I smiled at him and left for my regular table, coming to sit next to Angela. "You look like you just showered," she laughs at me.

"Might as well have been," Ben tells us, pushing his hair back with the water he acquired. "That Jasper guy has a hell of an aim. I wonder if he can play an FPS just as good…" he thought.

I took a single carrot from Mike's tray and start chewing on it, listening to the conversations that crossed the tables. I eventually just tuned it all out till Jess pushed my shoulder. "Edward's looking at you."

"Edward's not here today," I laugh him off. "He's sick." The bell went off in that moment and I didn't care to look behind me to confirm their lies.

Mike, Angela, and I made our way to Banner's room, Mike telling me we almost had it in the bag had if Emmett hadn't joined the other side.

Upon entry I realize my lab partner is here, unlike this morning when in Spanish class. Jess and Lauren were indeed not lying.

Instead of being sick like I had assumed - he was reading a thick green book. Not for the first time, I thought of my actions from yesterday and how I should have been nicer about it.I immediately felt ashamed as I went to sit in my seat, opening my notebook trying to figure out how to apologize for my actions. My pen went around the paper by itself in different patterns my mind racing and my stomach flipping.

"You're using one crutch?" the soft voice asked, dripping with emotion.

I looked to my side where the man was sitting, up from where I was doodling. Okay, yep. Okay, he started the conversation. "My legs are getting stronger, so in order for them to get to full shape I decided to... up the ante, if you will."

"Would that hurt you?" he asked in earnest. His face was twisted in concern, eyebrows furrowed.

"Nothing some Tylenol can't help with." The conversation kind of ended abruptly and I felt so bad for making the air around us awkward. "So, uh, I'm sorry for how I acted yesterday. It's just, people staring only stare because they're trying to figure out what's wrong with me."

"Would... you mind if I asked what's wrong?"

I shake my head and kind of looked aimlessly at a wall. "I had malunion with a severe bacterial infection in both of my legs," I answer before turning to his face. His eyes looked to be in a far away place, and it caused me to become the slightest bit nervous.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Better." He gives me a half smile, and I wasn't convinced for a second but I still nod in what I can only assume to be in an awkward way. "Uh, I was wondering..." he trailed off, trying to find his words. I bring my eyebrows together after a few seconds went by and he doesn't continue his train of thought.

"Uh, Edward? Are you sure you're alright?" My voice was light, airy almost. "You keep… spacing out there."

"Um... yeah. I was wondering if you had the notes from last week? Tuesday's?"

"Oh yeah," I tell him, he wasn't at school that day, I briefly remember. "If you need Spanish too, then let me know." Flipping through my notebook I come across the date's notes and hand the notebook over to him. "Take it for as long as you need."

"Alright class!" Mr. Molina finally starts, taking away the awkward stale air that surrounded me and my lab partner. "We're going to be deciding what onion slides go to which cell phase. And the winner will be getting..." he pauses for dramatic effect before pulling out a poorly golden sprayed onion from one of his desk drawers. "The Golden Onion!"

Boos were heard around the room and I gave a bit of a chuckle at everyone's response. "But is it edible, is the real question," I make the joke, mostly to myself but a small chuckle is heard from Edward so I must have said it a bit to loud. The worksheet is handed out along with our onion slides, where it's numbered in the corner.

Placing them in the microscope that was typically near the window of our desk; I immediately go to it to get an answer. "Anaphase," I tell. Edward writes it down without a word before switching out the slides and taking his turn.

"Prophase." I nod before following the same process he just did. "Hey, Gwen?" I looked at him before looking through the microscope. "I wanted to say sorry, for kind of ignoring you these past couple of weeks. That... that is _not_ like me. I would like to be friends." I smile at him a little, trying to show him I'm not actually mad at him anymore.

"It's alright. I know I'm not the coolest person to be around." I look into the magnifying glass. "The daughter of the sheriff _and_ crippled? I'm not really the life of the party." I laugh before studying the cell a bit more, backing away from it. "Uh, not sure how specific he wants us to get. It looks like early prophase."

"I'll write it down anyways," Edward tells me. "And I don't see any problem with either of those things. Your dad being the sheriff or being - as you call it - crippled. You're... nice." He tries to find his words again and I nearly laugh at his attempt to make me feel better.

"Don't worry about it, Edward. And it is being crippled. Got a few more weeks till I'm not."

He takes the microscope now, peering into the tunnel. "It looks like Anaphase."

"Would you mind if I check that one?" I politely ask, moving the microscope to my side of the table. "It's not that I don't trust you but… it's hard to identify Interphase." I take a look and immediately nod at my suspicions. "Interphase."

"You're not a junior are you?" it's an innocent question, ignoring the fact he got one wrong. But it still makes my heart race for some reason, did he think I was older than I am? A Senior? Or maybe he thought I was much younger than a what grade I really am in.

"I'm a sophomore. When I was in the hospital - in Seattle - they had a school there for the kids who couldn't make it to a regular one. When Dad wasn't with me, I was in the classroom talking to the teacher." And I just spilled a ton of things I haven't even told _Angela_ about. Oh look, I just keep on going with the talking thing. "I took extra online classes, I just like to learn anything and everything. One of the reasons why I was so excited for school."

He laughed at this. "I don't think I've ever met a teenager who's excited for school."

I grin back. "Well, here's your first one."

Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working anymore, but just talking to one another. He looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers.

"So, Edward, didn't you think that Gwendolyn should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.

"Gwen," Edward corrected automatically as if he had been doing it for all of his life. "Actually, she identified three of the four, even fixed one of my mistakes."

Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expression was skeptical. Was it so hard to think that I could do it?

"Have you done this lab before?" The teacher questioned.

I smiled sheepishly and nodded. "We didn't use microscopes, it was unsanitary and a lot of kids have low-immune systems. So we did it online, but with whitefish blastula, not the onion root."

Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program at your old school?"

"Yeah," I answer, trying to at least be the tiniest bit humble. "I was in AP Biology, but Forks doesn't have it."

"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess it's good you two are lab partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away. I don't imagine it's nice. After he left, I began doodling on my notebook again, letting it take me to another plane.

A Golden Onion was placed on our countertop and Mr. Banner's back was the last thing we saw.

We both began to pack things away from the lab, even going as far as to cleaning the microscope before the bell went off. By then, I hadn't even realized most of the kids were gone. I started packing my things, trying to get out of the way of whatever unfortunate soul had this class next.

I was out in the almost empty halls, placing my jacket back on before going to my locker in Building One. Footsteps caught up to me, following my pace.

"Gwen," they greeted, that velvety voice sounding.

"Edward," I retorted. "Can I help you with something?"

"What do you like to do, in your free time?" Edward asked me, the halls empty now, not answering my question.

I chuckled, just a bit in disbelief. That's what he caught up to me for? "I like to listen to music and read - and photography. Forks is perfect for nature shots," I admit. "What about you? What do you like to do?"

He pondered on it for a second. "Piano," he said. "I love to play the piano."

"Oh?" I never pegged him to be a piano type of guy. But now that he said it, his hands have the pianist look to them, in a way. You know, the long fingers and the heavily developed muscles in the hands from composing and playing for so long. "Is there anything you play in particular?"

"I like to write my own pieces," he admits. "I'll show you sometime." I finally make it to Building One where my locker is the first one on the right side. I open the metal door to place most of my books in there along with the onion.

"I'd like that," I tell him, closing the locker door. "I'm gonna head out, I'll see you tomorrow? You should start for class, don't wanna be late now!" I was opening the door to make my way to the front of the school before I felt a hand grab my own. I look at it, feeling the coldness of it.

"Your notes," he starts. He looks nearly lost for words and I give a somewhat amused look at him. "Your notes are really good. I was wondering if we could study together sometime?"

I ponder for a second. "I mean, sure. That shouldn't be a problem. How about Thursday? Our test isn't till Friday so it'll be perfect studying time. I'll ask my dad if you can come over." He thinks about it for a second before nodding his head.

"That sounds perfect." I lose the contact from my hand, I didn't realize he was still holding. "I'll see you tomorrow, Birdie."

"Birdie?" I laugh lightly.

"Swan, birdie," he explains. His mouth going into another half smile, but this one... This one seems genuine. I nodded, a slight smile wide across my face and another tinge of regret for how I acted yesterday surfaced.

I went home after that, parking my truck in the driveway and entering my home. Immediately once inside, I grabbed a somewhat clean pair of sweatpants from a hamper and stripped my jeans off in favor of them.

Dad was taking a late shift, so I decided I would make him a meal to eat once he got home and then I'll head to my room. I decided on something healthy (A few months ago Dad had a scare with his heart and I am not letting him wither away from it) and got out the dusty cookbook that Great-Grandma Swan made.

Spinach and Lentils. We had the lentils, and my last excursion to the local grocer - Thriftway lent me the available materials. I finished it in about twenty minutes, placing it in a plastic container and then in the fridge, with a sticky note on the lid telling him it was his dinner and to put it in the microwave for a few seconds on high.

I went up to my room, taking my phone and bookbag with me and sat at my desk. I grabbed my copy of Sherlock Holmes _A Study in Scarlet._ It was the first one, and a great piece to write about for my exam in British Literature. I just had to write a summary and where it was written and published to get the okay to start my project on it.

It was well into an hour or two when I heard the front door open from my bedroom. And I knew I relocked it so it had to have been someone with a key. I got up from my comfy chair and peeked down the stairwell to see Dad putting his gun belt up. "You're home early," I comment, coming further down the stairs.

"Well, the state was leniant with us. Since Callim County's short on deputies, so Jefferson is helping us a bit," he explains, kicking his shoes off at the door. "How was school?"

"Good," I answer, going down the rest of the stairs, I then remembered that one bronze haired boy. "Hey, Dad?" I head into the kitchen, which was soon followed by my father. I opened the fridge and bent at the waist to grab the lentils, taking the top off and putting in the microwave for twenty seconds. "You know the Cullens, right?"

He was just about to sit down but froze in spot, moving his head to look up at me. "What about it?"

"Well, Edward wants to come over to study some after school on Thursday. I was wondering if you were okay with that? Cause, we can cancel if need be."

"You still got your pepper spray?" I laugh and hit him on the shoulder before turning back to the microwave to take the dish out. "Yes, sweetheart. So long as it's _just_ studying?" A single eyebrow of his raised and I laugh even louder, willing my right leg to playfully kick his shin once I sit down, handing him his dinner.

"Oh shut up. Of course it's just studying, we're just going over our notes for AP Bio, Edward seems to be having a bit of trouble." I fiddle with my fingers, trying to not look to suspicious.

"You got anything to eat?" he asks.

"I was going to make something later, I just wanted to make you dinner first."

"Don't know what I'd do without you Gwen."

The rest of the night is just us talking to one another about our days, or well, me talking and Dad listening. We then sat on the couch with a bowl of trail mix in between us. We had a small little game where we would try to find the m&m's befoe the other so we could eat them.

"Bye Dad!" I call out, stuffing the rest of my face with my breakfast. I take our plates and glasses to the sink where I'll do them after school.

The school was bustling with people, nothing new. But what was new was the fact that there was _nowhere_ to park given the track and field match between us and Portland today that would take all day to finish. I give a huff before settling for parking next to the curb. I take my book bag from the passenger side and hook my keys onto the strap before I step out, no crutches today. They're still in my car if I absolutely need them, but I'm going to try a full day without them. I scan the parking lot, wondering where Ben and Angela are (they've been pretty close this past week and I'm totally on board for that relationship to happen) and fail to see them, probably at the track meet already(there's still snow and it's only 36°F out, what the hell?).

What I do manage to see is a hand waving to me, a smile on the owners face.

I give a slight smile back, waving at Alice who in turns gives me a grin that reaches ear to ear. The others behind her give small smiles and nods of acknowledgment but keeps their hands down to themselves. I see the largest of the Cullens- Emmett- hitting Edward in the back with his elbow. Edward only looks a bit sheepish looking down before back up and giving me a crooked smile. It was cute, in a way.

As I'm about to turn around a skidding sound is heard throughout the parking lot. The smell of burning rubber already pungent in the air.

They say you see your life flash behind your eyes before you're about to die. But I didn't. I saw all the things I haven't had the time to do yet. Graduate, go to college, buy a house and have Dad live with me once he retires. My mind wanders to the love aspect of life, the romantic kind. I don't see what kind of person I'd be with, but I do imagine going on a date, maybe having a boyfriend but that's all before the van is in front of me, ready to kill.

My legs can't handle the shock and I fall, I think about shimming under my truck for a millisecond but time was extremely limited and I didn't have the luxury of it. I could only hope whoever's driving the van is alright and that the scene won't be to gruesome.

I take a sharp breath but the impact never happened. I feel something curl around my waist and my hands immediately reach for it, a person I realize. My hands hold onto their shirt or coat, I couldn't tell in the heat of the moment. I hear the bang and look down at myself, still there in one piece. The van's tire is hovering above my foot before it's moved and the van falls to the ground. I shuffle myself into the chest of whoever's cradling me and I look up.

Edward freaking Cullen.

I can hear the screams of people and the hurried footsteps but all I see is Edward who looks at me. "Are you alright?" he asks breathlessly.

My breathing is harsh and my eyes are wide. " _Are you?!"_ I almost scream. I try to stand but his arm is holding me in a vice tight grip. The hand that was against the van - where a large dent is - comes under my legs. Edward stands and looks around at the crowds of people rushing over.

I look into the passenger window of the van, only to see Tyler, a large gash on his forehead. "Gwen! Edward!" Tyler cries. "I am _so sorry._ I didn't see the ice! I-I-I was going to fast and I panicked!" He sobs, tears falling down his face.

"It's okay." I shiver, my chest is tightening. I try to get a closer hold to Edward, for some kind of warmth. My legs feel like shit, where they had only a tingle of pain that made me aware of them where in its place is a burning sensation that typically only happens after over using it but this was plus tenfold.

"Get them out of there!" I hear an authoritative voice yell. I hear movement and rubber

skidding across the ground once more. Before I know it, the van's pulled away and Edward stalks out his head swiveling as mine is in his chest, trying to find any source of comfort as panic covers me and tears fall.

"Gwen?" Edward's voice rumbles. "Gwen, what's wrong?"

"M-m-m-my leg. My right leg. It hurts, it hurts," I sob out. My hands tighten even more on his coat. My face moves from his chest to the bottom of his neck when he re-positions me in his arms. I duck my head into where his shoulder and neck meet, tears falling onto his shirt and his hands are moving up my legs to get a better grip where his other hand is gripping the fabric of my shirt and jacket.

"It's alright, Gwen. It's alright," Edward whispers. He continues to whisper small nothings that help me calm down. I don't know how long it was till I finally stopped sobbing but my heavy breathing refused to subside. "Come on, Birdie. The ambulance is here."

I hear the rattling and sirens and I'm finally laid flat on my back, my tears dribbling down my face into my hair. I'm forced to put on a neck brace and I try to look around me.

"Ma'am can I have your name?" A flashlight shines in my eyes as I speak.

"Gwendolyn Marie Abendroth-Swan. Born January 8th, 1989," I utter out in a single breath, used to this procedure. "I-I suffer from malunion in both legs where a bacterial infection settled for the better part of two years, I had surgery to correct it in Seattle last year - in November. I'm still healing," I tell them as they do the routine checks. The woman speaking had deep brown hair and even darker skin, her hands carefully taking off my jacket.

"Thank you Ms. Swan, on a scale of a one to ten, how much pain are you in?"

"The only thing that hurts is my right leg. And I'd give it a twenty three if I could," I try to laugh out before wincing as one of the EMT's press down on it, right over my scar behind my knee.

"We're going to take you to Forks General Hospital, you're going to be alright, Ms. Swan," she tells me, before I feel myself loaded into the vehicle. "We're going to give you a dose of morphine for the pain, 2 milligrams, are you allergic?"

I shake my head to the best of my ability. "The only thing I'm allergic to is Sulfa, ma'am."

"Alright, you're going to feel a small pinch, alright?" her voice is soothing and I try to focus on it instead of my leg. A hand holds mine and I grasp it as tight as possible, falling to the darkness.

* * *

I'm groggy. I'm really groggy. I want to sleep longer. But my eyes open anyways, revealing the dimly lit room. The room is to perfect and clean to be a person's bedroom, all white without a single mark to dedicate to anyone person. A hospital, I come to conclusion. If that wasn't enough incentive the iv drip in my left arm should tell me where I am. I'm still in my own clothes, shoes off, but still. They hadn't changed me into a hospital gown. I haven't been here that long, nor do they expect to keep me for long.

Good sign.

"Gwen," a voice rasps out. I look to my right, where a chair (that looks incredibly uncomfortable) is. Dad _was_ sleeping in it, it seemed, all decked out in his uniform.

"Dad," I breathe out. My hand reaches out and his hand immediately intertwines with mine.

"I'm going to get the doctor, alright? I'll be right back." I nod, releasing my father's hand so he can get up and out of the room. Like he said, he comes right back with a man in a white lab coat. His platinum blonde hair is slicked back and his face pale with honey colored eyes and a small smile.

"Hello, Ms. Swan. It's good to see you awake, how are you feeling?" I swallow nearly audibly.

"I'm alright. A lot better from when I was last awake," I admit. He smiles at this before looking at his clip board.

"I'm Doctor Carlisle Cullen, my children speak highly of you Ms. Swan." I smile at this and from the corner of my eye I see Dad beaming at me. He values Doctor Cullen's words, which is easy to tell. "Now, can you tell me what happened?" he takes a pen from his pocket, holding a finger out for me to stare at while he checks my eyes.

"I was getting out of my car, and... and I was looking for Angela, seeing where she was. Give her my best wishes at winning the track meet today," I admit. "I.. I waved at Alice, when she waved at me... Then the van was there and-and-" Edward. He wasn't anywhere near me. He was next to Emmett. I remember that. He gave a cute side smile while he leaned on his car.

"Don't overexert yourself Ms. Swan." I nod taking deep breaths.

"Edward got me out of the way. I didn't realize he was so close, but he pulled me away when my legs gave out, got me out of the way of the impact. He carried me till the ambulance got there and then they asked me questions. I got some morphine and that's all I remember."

"A pretty decent summary of what witnesses have said. You've only been out for approximately three hours, we came to the conclusion that your muscles tensed far to much in shock. Your right leg more than your left, since it hasn't healed _as_ well compared to it's counterpart. We're prescribing you some muscle relaxants. You should be discharged in less than an hour. We also suspect a mild concussion so you will have to be woken up every two hours when you fall asleep tonight."

Dad's hand reached out to the doctor, who immediately gripped it. "Thank you, Doctor Cullen. Don't know what I would do if you weren't here to take care of my girl."

"Well, it's an honor, Sheriff. I just need you to sign some release forms and then we can get started on the discharge process." The doctor turns back to me. "Are you up to visitors, Ms. Swan?"

"Um, sure," I answer.

"Don't have to if you don't want to, kiddo," Dad tells me.

"I know. It's probably just some friends, I don't mind."

"I'll send them right in." Doctor Cullen smiles before leaving, Dad hot on his heels. I hear the door softly close and my eyes droop close. I don't wake till I feel someone on my bed, causing it to shift towards the new weight.

"Sorry," the melted chocolate voice says. "I didn't mean to wake you."

I yawn. "It's fine, Edward. Are you doing alright? Feeling okay?"

He gives a chuckle looking away from me for a brief second before nodding. "I'm doing a lot better than I was knowing you're better." I smile and it falls a few seconds later; a look of concern replaces the small smirk on Edward's face.

I turn my face away for a second, swallowing before I speak again. "You... don't have to tell me. But I'm curious. How did you get to me so fast?" I look at his reaction only receiving a confused stare.

"I was right next to you, Gwen."

I shake my head. "Okay, cool. Cause I'm pretty certain I saw you standing next to Emmett and Alice giving me that small little smile. You know, the cute one."

"Cute one?" he asks, a look of amusement appearing.

"Yes, cute. Don't let it go to your head." I snuggle into the bed.

"I'm not. You know, you're a lot sassier than I gave you credit for."

I gesture to the IV. "Medication, gets me to say all kinds of things. And you're changing the subject."

"I was standing right next to you, Gwen. What else do you want me to say?"

"The truth would be nice."

"Can't you just say thank you?" he grabs my hand, wrapping the cold appendages around my warm one, I grip back.

"Thank you," I genuinely say. "I'm... I'm sorry for prying. It's your secret, I just don't like lying. Especially to my dad, let alone yours."

"My father knows what's going on..." he stops looking away from me. "Gwen, you should stay away from me."

I give a humorless laugh. "Yeah, no. We're bio partners."

"Gwen," Edward sternly starts. "If you're with me, you'll only get hurt." I roll my eyes.

"Worse than this?" I gesture to my legs.

He swallows, his adam apple moving with it. "Worse than that."

I nod, biting my tongue to not say anything that I would regret. "Alright, if that's what you want I won't force you to be my friend or anything. We can still study together, if you want."

He shakes his head. "I'd rather not." His hand slips from my grip when he stands and moves to the door.

"Edward," I call out. He stops in place, but refuses to meet my eye. "I'm sorry." He leaves, providing me with crying material for a couple of day when he doesn't even turn back to acknowledge my statement.

He looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine. His face was such a distraction that I tried not to look at it any more than courtesy absolutely demanded.


	4. Drawn

Dad put a single arm behind my back as we walked out, I refused a wheelchair once I was discharged in favor of my father's arms. I was led to the glass doors of the exit, passing people who were loitering outside - most I didn't even know.

"I'm fine," I tell some as they come towards me, Dad tugging on my person to force me to get to the police cruiser. "Just muscle cramps," I tell them with a smile.

I fell into the passenger seat and moved to put my belt on, waiting for Dad to enter the driver's side.  
We drove in silence, not even the police scanner on. My mind was reeling with what Edward had told me. Not be friends? Why? What was the point of that? I thought we were doing well so far in the friend department. He actually talked to me, not just talk to me for the sake of being the new girl or a new _girl_ as in, someone they didn't grow up with since Pre-K.  
I slammed the cruiser's door a little harder than necessary on my way out, thinking about the real reasons a lot of the populace of Fork's spoke to me. I was the unknown yet known. My father was the chief of police and my 'mom' was from La Push. But there were enough variables for people to think about it.

I decided I might as well go to bed early that night. Dad continued to watch me anxiously as if I would fall to the ground at any moment. And while typically I was fine with that, it didn't bother me. But with my nerves so agitated it only added to the fire. I took my medication and swallowed it via tap water. I even took my sleep aide so I could actually fall asleep early.

I fell asleep, dreamlessly as the medication tended to do that. And I then realized I shouldn't have done that because Dad had to wake me up every two hours. And one of the times he tried to wake me, I wouldn't. He got pretty scared, to say the least. I felt like the biggest asshole known to man, honestly.

When I officially woke, unable to fall back asleep it was four in the morning. A quick sniff of my dark hair let me know that I still smelled like a hospital. The worst smell. I stood up, my knees cracking when I shifted off of the bed. I stayed in one spot for a single moment, cracking my neck and back, stretching. I picked up some of my toiletries, taking them into the bathroom along with a spare thing of clothes that didn't reek.

I took a long shower, letting the warm water roll over me in waves. My legs felt relaxed, and the steam helped my dry throat I had barely been able to recognize. Morphine. Hell of a drug.

Once I finished in the shower, I went to brush my teeth. I had spent the better part of an hour in the bathroom at this point, finally just deciding to go out and watch the sunrise.

I picked up my gifted camera and a single book with bookmark post-it notes scattered throughout. I basically hopped down the stairs, not letting my father be re-awoken by the chairlift.

Outside it wasn't raining, but it was dewy, leaving a light fog around us. The clouds were scattered, allowing the night to shine through. The night… stars that are from millions of light years away, only shining for a brief time. For all we know, they've all burned out, leaving their stardust in their wake and a scar in our skies. We see the past of them, not their current state. It's a mind-boggling to think about while looking at them, I guess. The sun was rising now, hidden by the tree lines that contorted around my backyard; leaving the stars blinded by the light we have here.

I didn't even read my book, leaving the words of Walt Wiltman unread for this morning.

A quick look at the oven's overhead clock allowed me to know that it was six in the morning. With a quick grunt, I let my book slide across the table and moved to the fridge, taking out the necessary ingredients for some pancakes and bacon (center cut, it was a bit extra but it's the healthiest option Forks has).

I was just beginning to finish the last of the bacon when Dad started his way down the stairs, rubbing his eyes and still in his pajamas.

"Why're you awake so early?" He gives a contagious yawn that forces me to swallow my own.

"I just couldn't go back to sleep after the four o'clock wake up call, so I took a shower, watched the sunrise and made breakfast. Real therapeutic," I joke placing the last sizzling piece of bacon on the large plate. "And some of the pancakes look like dinosaurs. Like this one!" I placed the plate of pancakes next to their counterpart of bacon. "Only if you squint… and tilt your head. Maybe just use your imagination."

"How're you feeling?" He asks, going to take a seat while I set the rest of the table.

"I'm doing great," I answer. "Sorry about the sleep aide, I just… wanted to get yesterday over with."

Dad nods, not breaching the subject further. I place our own personal plates on the table and the silverware. "I did have Deputy Jameson bring the truck back over. You wanna drive? Or want me too?"

"I'll drive myself, I'm not going to let a little scare get to me."

Dad took a deep breath, cutting into his breakfast. "You could have _died_ Gwen."

I start to follow suit, cutting my pancakes up and putting syrup all over them. "I could have, but I didn't. I won't let this stop me from everyday life."

And that was the end of the argument. We didn't speak of it and just got ready for the rest of the day. I put on my favorite jeans, not to tight but tight enough that made me feel good about my body and a long sleeve blue shirt with some slip on vans. I let my hair down from the bun I had placed it in last night and quickly brushed through it, not giving it much thought.

I was out the door in the next two minutes, Dad following my lead. We said our goodbyes and started for opposite sides of the town.

The parking lot was nowhere near as busy as it was yesterday, letting me park in the same spot as the other day. Immediately a crowd comes to my car.

"Gwen!" The first one to get to my side is none other than Tyler. His deep skin had much more color than it did yesterday. "I am so so sorry, here let me take this for you." And without my consent he takes my bag, putting it over his shoulder.

"It's fine Tyler, I can take my own bag. My legs were just a bit in shock. Everything's cool now." I take my bag back from him and put it on _both_ shoulders now. "I gotta head to Brit Lit, I'll see ya later." And with a small wave, I started my long journey to Ms. Bruer's room.

I have stopped a total of fourteen times. Not including when I was stopped the piles of students who would join in. I kept saying I was fine, that it was just shock that made me feel the pain. But they kept at it and in all honesty, it got tiring real quick.

Lauren was being much nicer than she has this previous two weeks and went as far as to offer me her notes from yesterday. I gratefully accepted and wrote them down quickly, putting it down in the correct part of my notebook. But of course, it came with a price.

"Alright, now you have to tell me," She demands when we finally finish on today's notes of how Shakespeare wanted Macbeth to be portrayed. "What do his arms feel like?"

"What?" I asked, just about to drink some water. I was glad I didn't. I probably would have to spit it out all over my desk in disbelief.

"Edward," she hissed, scooting over to me. "What does his arms feel like? Are they ya know… muscular, rock hard - oh my gosh! What about his abs?"

I stared wide-eyed, not sure how to respond to the questioning. "I um… I don't… Know, really."

Lauren guffawed, not believing it for a second. "How can you not know?" He carried you to the ambulance."

I shrugged my shoulders, taking a sip from the plain water bottle. I then packed my things away, putting them in my book bag before heading out the door once the bell went off. And I was swarmed once more.

"Gwen, let me get that for you," Tyler insisted taking my books - again without my consent - and towards the front doors of the building.

"I can carry my own things, Tyler," I comment, not really caring for his overbearing attitude. "Don't worry about it."

"But Gwen, I am so so _so_ sorry about yesterday. Please let me -"

I stopped on the sidewalk, causing Tyler to stop a few steps ahead of me. "No, Tyler. There's no point in being remorseful when nothing happened. My legs tensed up, that's it. Now, I'll take this," - I gently remove my books from his arms and wrap my own around them - "And head to class. You should too."

And with that, I went to my next hour Spanish. And I didn't really want to, not with how Edward treated me yesterday. I don't blame him. But when class started and attendance was done, Edward still wasn't there. It made me feel soothingly relaxed. Today would be without that obnoxious nerve-wracking feeling in my stomach.

Then it was Gym, which in all honesty, was the _worst_. Coach Clapp refused to even let me do my physical therapy exercises. With a deep breath, I walked around the perimeter of the gym, unwilling to just sit out the whole class period. I did this for about ten minutes before I sat down to get a breather.

Angela kept looking over at me, sympathy in her eyes. I just gave her a smile so she could focus on the class's basketball game.

And after Calc it was lunch. Awesome and great lunch. I just ate the mozzarella sticks, dipping them into the provided marinara sauce. It was sunny today, the sun soaking the wet ground that was always drenched in water. Ben joined me at the decently dried lunch table that was outside for these specific warm days. Ben soon brought over Austin, who in turn brought Jessica and Lauren then Mike, and I was already saving Angela a seat.

"Is that what's for lunch today?" Lauren wrinkled her nose at my tray, where I was sharing with Austin since I could not finish the large portions all by myself.

"Yeah, but they might have some fish sticks left over," I tell her with a shrug.

"Ew, I'm going over to Tyler, has anyone seen him?" I shake my head and look around the bunched together tables that were my new friend group.

"Last I saw him was after second hour," I inform since no one else was speaking up.

"Thanks for _that_ useless info." Lauren saunters off, leaving a chuckling Ben and Austin, who just turned to one another sharing an inside joke of some kind.

"The fact that you don't get pissed off, astounds me," Angela tells me.

"The fact that you still haven't made a move on Ben astounds _me,_ " I whisper to her, earning me a swift hit on the shoulder and my laughter to escape my lips.

"Hey, Ang," Ben said from the other end of the table. Forcing Angela to stretch her neck out to see what her crush wanted. "Coach says track practice will be outside if the weather keeps up. Wanna spread the word?" A blush grazed the other's cheeks and she gave a sharp nod. "Cool, thanks."

"When he only thinks of me as his fellow teammate, it makes it a bit hard," she grumbled. I put an arm around her, kissing her forehead.

"He'll come around," I comfort. "Come on, bells about to ring." I go to grab the tray but my new-found best friend waves me off.

"Hey, I'll put the tray away," Angela tells me, taking the blue tray with her to the Canteen.

"Alright, I'll see you in class?" I ask and she shook her head, a solid no.

"No, I have to go to the dentist, so I'll see you tomorrow," she answers. "And I'll text you tonight." I nodded and picked up my bag.

"Alright," I reply. "I'll make sure to tell you what we're doing in class." She thanks me and we both separated in different directions.

The clouds began to come overhead and I briefly looked up, seeing them become thicker and thicker. Maybe track practice will have to be inside once more. By the time I passed Building two, the rain started coming down so quickly that I quickly became drenched. I picked up my pace so I could enter Banner's room and wring my hair and clothes out over the sinks. Once done I moved to sit in my regular seat, feeling at ease that the table was empty without the Cullen there. I knew he wasn't here today but for some reason, I felt… safe.

It wouldn't last long.

" _Hey, you've reached the Black Residence. We can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave a message we'll be sure to get back to ya."_

 _"_ Hey, Jake or Billy, whenever you get this, Jenny, my truck, I named her that. The girl won't start and I was wondering if you could give me a hand. Call me back when you get this alright? Love ya. Bye." I hang up my cell phone, looking under the hood once more. And I've come to the conclusion for the hundredth time.

I know nothing about cars.

I start dialing Dad's number only to be sent straight to voicemail. "Hey, Dad. It's me. Your daughter. You didn't charge your phone. Or you have it off. You're probably on duty for some sort of super important mission that if you don't succeed the world will perish or something, so I'll leave you to it. Bye, love you." I give a groan after hitting the end call button. "I'm going to scream." I slam the hood down and round back to my door, yanking my book bag out along with my crutches. I write on a piece of paper from my notebook and put it against the drivers' side window (from the inside so it'd stay dry and readable), explaining the situation as to why the car would be there, signing my name at the bottom.

I hold the helpful walking sticks in one hand and start my trek home. I would stay longer, but since I was one of the last people to leave the school (I helped with the Decathlon Team; I wasn't allowed to be officially apart of it so late in the year but I did help with some of the geography questions for the next meet in addition to helping Yearbook Committee with the prototype yearbook) and the last teacher just drove off after escorting me out the door.

 _It's not that far._ I tell myself. _Only about half a mile. You can do it, if you need to sit down, just sit on the curb and then get back walking. All there is to it._

I'm not even halfway through the parking lot before a silver Viper pulls through going three times the speed limit and screeches to halt a few feet away from me. The window rolls down and there was Alice Cullen, in the flesh, looking at me like she found me with my hand in the cookie jar.

"Hey," I wave, letting a smile cross my face. "Schools closed, Mr. Varner just left." I start moving towards the slick sidewalk and while I'm doing so the pixie nearly ejects herself from the car, standing on her feet and crossing her arms. Despite the teen's stature being so small, it still sends shivers down my spine.

"What are you doing, Gwen?" I narrow my eyes at her in confusion.

"Walking home...?"

"What's wrong with your truck?" she nods towards my truck.

"Don't know really, oh you have Calc fifth ho-" she raised a hand to silence me.

"I don't care about what we did in Calc. What I'm worried about is the fact you're _walking_ home. In the rain."

"It's less than a mile, don't worry." I shrug, starting off again, hoping to get out of this awkward conversation.

"Get in," she orders me, pointing at the passenger's side. When I don't move, she starts to get a bit snippy. "Now, Gwen!" I take a deep breath and make my way over, sliding into the passenger side. Once Alice is back in the car, her smile broadens to look more like the cat who ate the canary.

"Did you just get back from your trip?" I asked, trying to make small talk. It's something I overheard Jessica explaining to Austin.

"We got back this morning, but we were all beat. Caught some Z's."

"Ah." I turned my focus onto the streets, looking at them fly by. My eyebrows came together in confusion and I looked over to Alice's side, to glance at her speedometer. "Hey, you're going to get pulled over!"

The teen slowed down considerably. "Sorry, lead foot."

"It's alright, I just don't want you getting a ticket."

"Hey, do you have a cell phone?" I nod yes. "Do you have my number?" Alice asked, looking a bit perplexed.

"No," I answer. "I only have family, Angela, and Ben. That's it."

Before I could even blink a flip phone is being handed to me. "Here, put your info in and I'll text you tonight." I nod and start clicking on the number pads in order to spell my name 'Gwen' then putting my cell phone number and home phone in there, along with my email.

"I filled everything," I tell her, saving the contact and holding out to her. Her gloved hands take the phone with grace and before I know it we're parked outside my house. How did she know where I live? Was the town that small everyone knew where everyone lived? "Um thanks, Alice. I'll uh, see you around?"

"Tomorrow," Alice confirms.

"Alright, and tell your dad thanks for me, you know... the hospital?" I have one foot out the door and hands filled with my book bag and crutches.

Alice nods. "I'll make sure to tell him."

"Thanks." I wave, slinging my backpack over my shoulder once I'm completely out of the car and making a move to the steps, gingerly going up them with minimal difficulty. Opening the door led me to a... peculiar sight, for the lack of better words.

"It's six o'clock, Gwen, I brought you _McDonald's._ Did you forget what today was?" Jacob asks, hands on his hips. I groan, face palming my forehead. I finger gunned him.

"Bonfire night."

"That's right, now, get something warmer on and we're heading straight for the Rez."

"Jenny _died,_ Jake!" I whine. "She's still at school."

"We'll just take my bike to the school and then we'll put my bike in the bed of the truck-" I playfully cleared my throat and narrowed my eyes. Jacob raised his hands in defense. "Bed of _Jenny_ once we fix it." The large fifteen-year-old takes my shoulders and points me towards the stairs. "Now, _warm_ clothes. _Dry_ clothes," he stressed.

"Fine!" I comically huffed. In my bedroom, I put on a pair of leggings and then some flared jeans over to keep me warm, some nice hospital thermal socks and then I change into a thick sweater with my jacket on. I look around trying to find my beanie when I notice something. "JACOB EMPHRIAM BLACK!" I call down the stairs, leaning out of my doorway. "What were you doing in my room!?"

"You were taking, _forever!_ "

"So, don't go through my stuff!" I walk down the stairs, carrying my beanie and his own. I throw it at him. "If I find out you ever do that again-"

"What, you gonna crutch me to death?" he asks, lifting up one of my crutches I set aside near the jacket rack and holding it like a sword.

"Damn straight," I joke, digging into the McDonald's bag on the kitchen table. I eat a single chicken nugget before starting for the door. "Come on, let's get going." I went down the steps with ease and then moved to his motor bike that stood next to the garage. I wiped it off with my sleeve and sat down, feeling the cold faux-leather send chills up my spine.

Jacob was on my heels, sitting in front of me before turning it on with a single key. "Hold on, I'm going to go a bit faster than normal." I nodded and scooted forward a bit, the hair of Jake's ponytail tickling my nose. We started zooming off, the slick roads no match for the thick wheels of Jacob's do-it-yourself motorbike.

When we got back to the school, my truck was still there - as I would hope so. We parked the bike and started shaking the water we've accumulated off. The rain was turning into a mist, thankfully. But I'd rather get into the cab of my truck before it turned to raining cats and dogs again.

"Alright, I'm going to pop the hood, think you can try starting it?" Jacob playfully tasked me. I scoffed but still took my keys off of my belt loop to unlock the door. I took the piece of paper explaining the circumstance of my truck being there off and set it next to me. I saw Jacob raise the hood up, then giving me a thumbs up to go.

I put my keys in the ignition and let it rip, expecting it to just rumble and stall before refusing to start. Imagine my surprise when the car did indeed start, and sounded even _better_ then this morning. My mouth widened and a disbelieving smile graced my lips. Jacob looked at me with stern eyes after he shut the hood. I rolled down my window manually and leaned out. "I swear to god, it would _not_ start."

"Well, something happened. Did you happen to get someone to help you?"

I shake my head as I watch him put his bike in neutral to move it to the bed. "No, the only one who helped me was an upperclassmen named Alice. She just drove me home in her _sick_ ride."

"Sick?" Jacob grunted in exertion; picking the motorbike up and placing it in the bed before rounding over to the passenger side, he yanked the passenger side open and hopped in. "What do you mean by sick?"

"She had a Viper," I tell him. "It was silver, all pretty."

Jacob whistled. "Where do you get your friends?"

I shrugged and put the truck into drive. "I don't know. They just show up sometimes."

"I want your luck," Jake snorted. The rest of the car ride was quiet as we started for First Beach. The only thing filling the silence was some popular music station from Port Angeles. When I saw the many cars, I knew we were in for a long night. It wasn't a Council meeting only. Meaning, all of the tribe could be here today.

I swung my door open only to hear the rattle of voices and the crackling of fire. My first bonfire. How could I even forget?

"Look who decided to show their face to La Push!" I hear a prepubescent voice yell. His small frame comes barreling towards me now that I'm standing on the rocky sand, and I barely have a moment to comprehend the body that slams into me.

I grunt but still wrap my arm around him. "Missed you too, what did you do? Grow a foot since the last time I saw you?" I joke, letting go.

"A little more than a foot." The thirteen-year-old winks. I laugh, putting my arm over his shoulder, his arm coming around my waist.

"Oh, Gwen," I hear the familiar voice of Sue Clearwater, make her way on over. Her son lets go of me so his mom could wrap her arms around my neck. "It's so good to see you walking," she gushes.

"Thanks, Sue." I hug back. I feel lips press against the side of my head before she takes my hand.

"Jacob, I expect you to get Gwen some food, understood?" Jacob makes a big show with huffing and stomping towards the fire to grab some hamburgers that were being grilled over the fire. Sue just moves in front of me so I'm out of everyone's line of sight. Staring into my eyes she tries to decipher... something. "Are you doing alright, sweetie?" I take a deep breath. Here it comes.

"Yeah, so long as I don't go to the old house-" I was cut off.

"It's gone. Billy sold the house, and the new owners bulldozed it. It's _gone,_ Gwen." I nod, sobs racking the inside of my body, but I just take a deep breath to calm them.

"Good."

Her arm intertwines with mine and we make our way to the fire pit. "Now, how're you doing in Forks?"

"You hear about that almost car crash I had?"

"Harry _may_ have briefly mentioned it when he heard from Charlie over the phone," she teased. I sit on one of the logs and a plate is immediately placed on my lap and Jacob sitting to my right side.

"Where's Leah?" I ask, taking notice of her absence.

"Date with Sam," Jake snorts. A small whistle goes off, signaling the Council Meeting to start. Jake just grins at me before taking a chip off my plate and chewing it giving me _that_ look. The

one where he's fed up with all the stories.

"The Quileutes have been a small tribe, since the beginning," Billy starts. "And the fact, that one of our own have made their way back to us, brings warmth to our hearts." Billy gestures to me. "Gwendolyn Abendorth, now more recently Swan. While she hasn't been here for the better part of her life, we will welcome her with open arms. The history she may have with my sister, will not discourage my niece from being with her roots, despite the horrors she has been forced to face. Gwen is valued, she is loved. We must always remind her, no matter what is to come." Billy's face looks stoic and looks ready to fight anyone who wishes to disagree on the matter. Jacob puts his arm over my shoulders and hugged me to his chest, kissing the top of my head.

"We are most happy to have you back, Gwen." Harry smiles wide. I only smile back, ducking my face down to hide my growing blush.

Billy, who is the chief of the tribe, continues. "With the growing of our tribe, the stories must still be passed. We must make sure that our memories, our stories, stay with us. And while we are small, we have magic running through our veins." Jacob makes a silent snort that I can feel through his chest. "Shapeshifters, and transform into the powerful wolf from where we have descended from. And with it, we scare off our enemies, and protect our tribe. It happened long ago that Q'waeti' journeyed all over the land setting the people aright and instructing the people that would come in the future how they should act. Q'waeti' instructed the people how to build houses. How to hunt. How to live. But how?

"One-day Q'waeti' came upon Beaver. Beaver was sharpening his stone knife, and Beaver was very stingy. Q'waeti' asked what was Beaver doing. Whereupon Beaver said: "I am sharpening my knife in order to kill Q'waeti'," said Beaver. Then Q'waeti' took what Beaver was sharpening and stuck it on Beaver's tail. Then he said: "You shall always have this stuck to your tail, and live in the water. You will just slap the water with your tail and dive when the people come."

Harry began now, taking over for the other. "Then one day he came upon Deer. Deer was sharpening his shell knife. Thereupon Q'waeti' asked Deer what was he sharpening it for. Whereupon Deer said: 'I am going to kill Q'waeti',' said Deer. Then Q'waeti' seized the shell that Deer was sharpening. Then he stuck it on Deer's ears. He said 'When you see people you shall run frightened and stop, and look back.' Then Q'waeti' went on his way," it was amusing to watch Harry tell the story. He did the little motions with his hands. "Not long afterward he reached Q'wayi't'soxk'a River. But he did not find any people. Then Q'waeti' spit on his hands and rubbed them. Doing this he rubbed off the human dead skin into the water. Thereupon many people appeared. Then Q'waeti' said to the people whom he had made: 'You shall dwell here,' said Q'waeti'. 'Your name shall be Q'wayi't'sox - Queets.'"

The old and croaky voice of Old Quil carried sound now, "Then Q'waeti' reached the Hoh people. He saw that these people walked on their hands carrying their smelt nets between their legs. At that time all the Hoh people walked on their hands. They were called the Up-side-down people. Since that time the Up-side-down people were known as the first people who had existed. Then Q'waeti' turned right side up the ones who walked on their hands. "You shall use your feet to walk," said Q'waeti' to the former Up-side-down people. 'Go and fish smelt. You shall catch much fish when you fish smelt'. Ever since then there is much smelt at Hoh.

"Then Q'waeti' went on and reached the Quileute land. He saw two wolves. There were no people here. Then Q'waeti' transformed the wolves into people. Then he instructed the people saying: 'For this reason you Quileute shall be brave, because you come from wolves,' said Q'waeti'. 'In every manner you shall be strong, with the spiritual capabilities even I possess.'"

"Bayaq - the Raven - did not like the Quileutes," Billy continues. "And wanted them dead, for they held to much of the spiritual power. So he devised a plan to kill us all, he possessed the Chief Ak-la-Toh's fourth child of his seventh wife, Tala-Toh. But Tala-Toh was strong and used his own cunning words in her favor, seeing the flaws of the wording he would speak into her ear. She took his power, and placed his own body on a flat plane. Using his power, she created a mountain that he would forever need to claw his way to the top. To this day he claws his way to the top, hoping for the breath of fresh air."

"From then on," Harry continued. "Tala-Toh was seen as the protector and despite her many brothers, was named Chief."

Old Quil takes this as his cue to speak once more. "We thank Q'waeti', for his spiritual guidance in protecting us from his own brother, and his spiritual sister, for her dedication" Old Quil finishes. "May Bayaq forever be trapped under the stone and Q'waeti' forever walking among our people."

"For the rest of the night, we'll celebrate the return of one of our valued tribesman," Billy states. Once he's done speaking most of the tribe (we're about forty to sixty strong tonight) crowd around me. The usual questions pop up on how I'm doing, are my legs better, how do I feel being back in La Push. Just trivial things that I've come to terms to now.

"I'm fine," I reassure everyone. "My legs are doing so much better, Doctor Denali was beyond the best surgeon in the world. She was phenomenal. I'm walking better every day."

"How are you feeling about your mom and dad?" Quil blurts out, earning dark looks from the others, I give a soft glance and a small smile.

"It's fine to ask, guys." I try to gain their attention so they're not ready to rip the poor guy in half. "Mom's in jail and Dad wasn't my dad. The abuse is done, it's over. I'll have a hard time with things, that's a given, but with your guy's help, I'll get better. No doubt about it."


	5. Awoken

The next four weeks not any better than the day after the accident. During all of March, Tyler - while for the rest of that day had distanced himself from me - now followed me like a lost puppy on my heels. It finally got to a peek when I was leaving the canteen and he was trying to coerce me to give him my books.

"Enough, Tyler!" I finally snapped. "I'm fine, you're fine. Everyone's fine. Go to class and let me carry my things. It's just like it was before the accident, alright?" I turned on my heel and bolted for the doors, letting them swing open. I heard pounding footsteps behind me and prayed to all that's holy that it wasn't Tyler.

"Gwen!" a new male voice called out. I turned a little, letting the wind blow over my hair; allowing it to get all over my face. "Gwen, you alright?"

I groaned, flinging my head back and looking up at the greying clouds. "I'm fine, Mike. I'm just… I don't like people coddling me like Tyler is. I'm not helpless. Besides, Edward was in the crash too. No one's helping him with his books."

"Well, he is a dude," Mike said, as if it answered everything.

I scoffed. "Yeah, and I'm a girl. Where's the feminism?"

Mike chuckled, his hip hitting mine. "Not everything's about feminism. You're just easier to talk to than Cullen."

"Gwen! Mike!" I hear the high pitched voice of my best friend, watching her sprint behind us at tremendous speeds. Her long legs pulling her farther and farther forward. "What the hell happened? Tyler's sulking and Lauren's mad."

I shrugged, starting to enter the Science building. "I got fed up with Tyler and his apologies. It's gotten to be enough, and I just can't deal with it."

Angela gives me a look of pity. "His heart's in the right place."

"Well, his heart can go fu-" Mike was cut off by a swift punch to the arm by Angela. And from the looks of it, it hurt.

"It's been over a month, Angela," I tell her. "He can stop it now."

The three of us entered the room, leaving to our separate tables. But unlike this month where Edward was gone for the majority of it - so much so that I stopped especting him to show up in any of the two classes we share (not to mention, he'll show up to one of the two and then become absent for the other). He was sitting in his correct spot. Leaving my stomach to knot and my nerves to come full swing. No, I refused to allow him to make me feel like this.

I sat down, noticing how Edward scooted his chair just the tiniest bit farther away from me. I took a deep breath, trying to hold the want of rolling my eyes at him down. I went into my book bag, taking out the notebook I've assigned for this class and flipped it to yesterday's notes.

"Here," I almost sneered in an attempt to hide my nervousness. "Tuesday's and Wednesday's notes." I slid it across the table only for Edward to grab it and push it back, not bothering to pick his eyes up from looking out the window. I scoffed shaking my head and just took it back, opening to a new page for the day. If he didn't want to take his education seriously in favor of his pride, then by all means. Why not let him?

Mike started his way to me before the bell went off, the room still mostly bare of people. He looked uncomfortable, and was looking at Edward with a weird look. "Hey, Gwen, I have a question for you."

I was dating the corner of my notebook when I spoke back. "What is it?"

"So," Mike said, looking at the floor, in embarrassment. "Jessica asked me to the spring dance."

"Really?" I practically squealed. "Angela's been telling me how she's been dying to ask you out. She has the night all planned, you'll have a lot of fun."

"Well..." He floundered as he examined my smile, clearly not happy with my response. "I told her I had to think about it."

"Why would you do that?" I groan, letting my head rest on my hand that was propped up on the blacktop counter. "You guys are perfect for each other."

Mike's face turned cherry red, his pale skin emphasizing it. "I was wondering if... well, if you might be planning to ask me."

I paused for a moment, looking at a random spot on the floor. "Me?"

"Yeah… you."

"Mike, I think you should tell her yes," I reply with no remorse.

"Did you already ask someone?" From the corner of my eye I saw Edward shift. Was he actually a gossiping Nancy? Listening in our conversation to go and spread the word? But to who? He only ever spoke to his family.

"No," I assured him. "I'm just not going to the dance at all."

"Why not?" Mike demanded.

I looked at him in the eyes. A blank stare. Then turned my body on the stool to showcase my legs. "Dancing, plus my legs, equals immediate death. Besides, why would you want to go with a sophomore? Isn't there some kind of code about that?"

"There isn't, I checked." I looked at Mike in disbelief. His face went redder. "What I meant to say is, I'll help you. If you'll ask me, that is."

"I'm sorry, Mike. But, I don't really see you that way," I bite the bullet. "You should say yes to Jess - she really likes you and any guy would be happy to have her. Especially you."

Mike's face becomes quickly downturned then just as quickly turned into a smile. "Well, thanks for being truthful, Gwen. I'll say yes to her after school."

"Good, now get to your seat, Mr. Banner yelled at you yesterday for a full five minutes for it."

"He did not."

"He did too, maybe not directly at you, but you were the cause of his rant, now." I playfully shove his shoulder. "Skidaddle. Outta here."

"I'm going, I'm going." The pale teen raises his hand in mock surrender. "I'll talk to you after school?"

"I'm going to try and get out of here, asap, so probably not. I'm just going straight home." Mike nods in understanding and I pick up my pen again, doodling in the opposite corner of where I had placed the date.

Edward shifted in his seat again and I turn to look at him. His eyes were black and his jaw tense, as if trying not to yell out something he probably shouldn't. I raised an eyebrow and lifted my notebook up, gesturing him to take it.

"Suck up your pride and just copy my notes, Edward. It's not that big of a deal." His hand trembles when he takes it, bringing his own notebook out to copy the words on his paper. I yawn and lean down on the table, using my arms as pillows. A finger prodded my fleshy part of my upper arm after a few moments, poking it once then twice. I snapped up, yawning again. My notebook was placed right next to me now.

"Thank you," Edward tells me, a small smile on his lips. I awkwardly nodded and forcibly reciprocated before turning to the board where Mr. Banner had started his new projector notes. I seemed to garner even more nervousness now, feeling my stomach tense and my mind to wander.

Why was him talking to me for the first time in a month matter to me? It shouldn't. He doesn't want to be my friend so it shouldn't matter, should it? I hate how I was feeling, how I responded to his presence. It wasn't healthy, I needed to move on from that failure of a friendship. But I didn't want it to be a failure. Edward had seemed sincere when he spoke to me, how he seemed actually interested in me - not because I was the new girl.

"Gwen," a voice woke me up from my mental rant. I realized I was no longer taking notes, but just lazily doodling on the side of the paper. I lifted my head up, at full attention to the teacher now that almost all eyes were on me. "Can you tell me, what occurs during the Krebs Cycle?"

I stumbled on my words a bit, earning a slight snicker from someone in the back of the classroom. "It's… it's… the Krebs Cycle generates a pool of chemical energy, like ATP, NADH, and FADAH2 from the oxidation of pyruvate."

Mr. Banner eyed me from behind his glasses, taking a seat atop of his desk. "What's the end product?"

"Glycolysis," I answer strongly.

Mr. Banner chuckled. "Is there a reason why you aren't on the decathlon team?" He joked and I shrugged refusing to answer. "Yes, thank you Gwen. You weren't completely daydreaming, were you."

He continued with his lecture - in which I put my full attention to the man, refusing to be called out again for my wandering mind - till it was only ten minutes to the bell. And since he wouldn't be here tomorrow for a vacation day he didn't assign us any homework, much to everyone's joy.

"Gwen," the soft voice called for me. I took an aggravated breath, turning to him. Why did his voice sound so… familiar? So comforting? It's a voice that almost brought me tears, that brought me a bit of sadness. It was a pathetic feeling coursing through my veins.

"Are you talking to me?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I don't know many Gwens around here," he answers looking around the classroom playfully.

"There's a Gweneth in Forks Junior High," I jest. "But seriously… Are you speaking to me again?"

He chuckles and shakes his head. "Not really… no." I rolled my eyes, closing up my notebook after the ink dried and put it back into my backpack.

"Alright, then what do you need?" I rub my forefinger and thumb across my eyes, not daring to look at him in fear I would just yell in aggravation at him.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, almost sounding sorrowful and sincere. "But it's better this way, you have to understand."

I lifted my hand, feeling a headache appear behind my eyes. I looked over to him and there was no crooked smile or funny look. He was dead serious. "I happen to not understand what you're talking about."

"It's better if we're not friends, Gwen," he tells me softly, his dark eyes sad. Where was the gold? "Trust me."

I sarcastically laughed to myself. "Trust you? What in your right mind thinks I should actually trust you?" I try to stay quiet despite my desire to start yelling. This was a private conversation and no one had to truly catch wind of it. It would spread like wildfire and neither Edward nor I feel like getting rumors thrown about one another. "You know, you could have just…" I looked off at the other wall, trying to figure out what to say. "Just… I don't know. It sucks that you didn't figure out earlier that you didn't want to be my friend. You could have just...Save yourself the regret?" my tone was nothing like I'm used to. But I was already fed up with Tyler and Edward was just adding onto it with more of his seething self-imposed sacrifice attitude.

"Regret?" Edward was clearly thrown off of my tone as I was. "Regret for what?"

I shrug. "For not letting Tyler just run into me? For saving my life instead of letting me become a pancake? Take your pick. You clearly hate yourself for getting me out of the way."

He looked baffled, as if I had figured it all out. Or maybe I didn't and he thought I was ridiculous. Either one. When he got over his shock, he spoke sound almost desperate, as if a sob would echo through his lungs at any given moment. "You think I regret saving your life?"

"Pretty much," I confirm. "You save my life, put me on a gurney, and then a few hours later say that you don't want to be friends anymore. Hell, we were barely friends to begin with."

"You don't know anything," he replies, definitely mad now if he wasn't before. I picked up the rest of my books, ones I had just out for the sake of reading them if I had free time during class. I meant to sweep dramatically out of the classroom in style, but of course I caught the toe of my boot on the door jamb and dropped my books - ;luckily not falling to my knees. I stood there for a moment, thinking about leaving them. Then I sighed and bent to pick them up. He was there; he'd already stacked them into a pile. He handed them to me, his face hard.

"Thank you," I said icily.

His eyes narrowed. "You're welcome," he retorted.

AP US History was numbing. The whole class period I barely heard a word, I was just so caught up in my thoughts. Why was he so… much of an asshole?! Once class was over I marched my little behind to the first building, where my locker was to place the unnecessary items back and taking the ones I needed home. I walked from the building to the parking lot at a leisurely pace, hoping to just get home after today's sparotic episode of drama. I nearly threw my bag into my truck, before climbing in. I started to back out before I heard something hit the drivers side It nearly sent me into a panic attack, that I may have had hit someone. Instead it was just Austin of all people. Did he want The Godfather back? He said he didn't need it till Tuesday next week,

"Hey, Gwen!" I forced a smile onto my face looking around the parking lot to see if this was an ambush by Tyler.

"Hey, what's up, Austin?"

"So... I was wondering..." I furrowed my eyebrows, sucking in my lips. "If you were going to the dance next week? And if you wanted to go with me?"

I shook my head. "Austin, listen. You're a real cool guy, really, you are. I just don't see you like that."

"You've already asked someone?"

"No," I reply, exasparated. "I'm not going. I was thinking of going to see some old friends instead."

"You can't go another weekend?" he whined. Actually full fledged whined. I think I saw him stomp his foot.

"I don't want to go to the dance, Austin. I'm not a dancing type of person."

He took a deep sigh before taking a few steps from Jenny, he looks at the ground then up at me. "Alright," he reluctantly concedes. "Tell me if anything changes."

I nod. "Totally." I check my sides and windows before backing out once more and heading towards the exit. A silver Prius pulled out and started to block my way, just parked in the middle of the road. I sat there for a good minute before I started to honk. "Oh for god's sake. Edward!" I pressed onto the wheel, causing it to beep erratically, trying to will the car in front of me to move. A knocking on my window brought me out of my daze. I looked at Tyler, his fist just coming down from the knock. I rolled down the window, allowing Tyler to lean his head in just a bit, the light drizzle of rain entering at the same time. "Hey, I'm sorry, Tyler. Cullen doesn't seem to want to move-"

"Hey, it's cool." He smiled, his slightly crooked teeth added to his adorable look. "I actually had a question for you."

I swear to all that's holy if this is what I think it is. "What is it?"

"So I was wondering if you'd ask me to the dance?"

Shit.

"No, Tyler. I'm not going to the dance, and I don't see you that way, romantically. I'm sorry."

Tyler sighed and nodded. "Yeah, Austin just told me."

I furrowed my eyebrows, taken aback. "And you still asked me? Why?"

"Because I thought you were letting him down easy." Tyler looked like a kicked puppy that just got scolded. "Sorry, Gwen. Can't blame a guy for trying. There's always prom!" He shrugged before turning back to his (not dented?) van. Just as I turned back to the road I see the driver in the Prius shaking with laughter, his eyes undeniably on mine from the rear view mirror and the rest of his family finally piling into the car. Then they were off, speeding out of the lot. I narrowed my eyes at them, not able to raise my hand to flip him the bird in time. I was beyond ticked off and ready to fight - though I would probably be on the ground first. But I still wanted too. Instead I just drove back home.

I pulled into my driveway, a bit annoyed and tired. There's no cruiser here so Dad's not home, I take it. I give a big huff, moving to my front door, unlocking it with my key and make a large flop onto the couch. "Gaaaaaaaah," I make the noise to no one. I sit back up, taking off my shoes and jacket, putting them in their respective places. I got up and walked to the medicine cabinet we had in the kitchen, grabbing my muscle relaxant and some vitamins and taking them both. I get a glass of water and swallow them down. I took a deep breath before reaching for some peanut butter and bread.

I soon had an after school snack, chewing down the PB and J sandwich and then a small chug from the milk carton. My legs felt a lot less achey then they did before thanks to the medicine. I climb up my stairs carefully, the older steps groaned under my weight, ready to be replaced soon. I nearly ram the bedroom door open and flop onto my bed, passing out in seconds. Thank you, drugs.

I don't remember my dream but I think there was a bird. And a lion of some kind, it wasn't horrible like a nightmare, just one of those unnerving dreams.

"Wakey wakey," a voice called, pushing and pulling my shoulder. "Time to get up, if you don't now, you won't sleep tonight."

"Noooo," I whined, rolling over to face the person. Standing there was Dad, his face wide and happy. "What's got you smiling so big?"

"Well, considering for dinner we're having Harry's Fish Fry all to ourselves-" I bounced out of bed and tried to run. "Gwen, you're going to get yourself killed!" I just laughed and continued on, taking my chair down instead.

I could smell the fish from the stairs. It's the small things in life that keep you going.

I must be more infatuated with Edward than I thought, to make a dream like that? Teen libido, maybe? I shook my head as I started down the stairs, my chair giving noises of retaliation the whole way down.

Dad's down the stairs before I am, already getting the plates out and ready. "Hey, Dad?" I ask, hobbling my way to the round dinner table. He gives an acknowledging grunt and I continue. "Would you be alright if I go up to Seattle next weekend?"

"Next weekend?" he asked, a crack in his voice. "Did I forget a doctor's appointment? Am I not off that day?" he stops dishing out the fish and goes to our 'Family Calendar' to check if he messed up.

"No," I reply, shaking my head. "I just wanted to go to a bookstore up there, you know that really big one on Elliot Drive?"

He nods and comes back over to the table to serve the food. "Why so far? I bet Portland would have whatever you needed." I shake my head at the thought.

"Nah, for as long as I live I'm going to be at Elliot's Bay Book Store. They're so sweet Dad. And Amy lives nearby, I was thinking of stopping over there to say hi."

He looks a little put off with it, finally sitting down after grabbing the mashed potato bowl. "And you'll be by yourself?"

I nod. "It's the weekend of the dance. And these legs aren't ready for it," I joke around. "So, how about it?"

"Did no one ask you?" Of course he asks that.

I refused to lie to my dad. "Yeah, a few people. But I don't like them like that, and I just feel like it'd be awkward," I confess. "So, what about Seattle?"

Dad looks skeptical, putting his fork down. "Will you be taking Harry's car?"

I shake my head, picking up my fork and playing with my food. "No, I'll take my truck. I'll stop to refill it, Monestano, Olyimpia - Tacoma if I absolutely have too." He's starting to get more into the idea of it.

"Would you like me to come with?" I shake my head.

"Nah, it's all good. If you want, I don't have to surprise Amy. I can call her ahead of time, tell her I'm coming up and then when I get there she can call you?" He looks more serene now, knowing the plan. He nods and brings his fork filled with fish and potatoes on it to his mouth. He slowly chews before he answers.

"Don't worry about it. I trust you, just, text me, call me, one of the two."

"Will you have your phone on though?"

A deep sigh. "Probably not."


	6. Unsteady

The rain was starting to let up now as I did the dishes, watching the drizzle come to a close. I had finished the last plate, even going as far as to wash Harry's plates tonight in order to give them back this weekend.

"Dad," I called back, hearing him flipping through the channels. "Would you be alright if I go out?"

"Right now?" He asks, concerned.

"Yeah," I call back, moving from the kitchen to the living room. "I was hoping to go out and find some fiddleheads, a few months ago Sue told me of a spot where they grow like weeds."

Dad put the can of beer to his lips taking a small sip. "I do like fiddle heads."

"And I'll get some groceries at the market afterwards. Sound good?" I put a hand out, eager for him to shake on it.

The strong grip was my response and a firm pump. "You got a deal. Money's in the jar." I nod and turn back to the kitchen, opening one of the cabinets to the jar, grabbing the money and counting it out. Eighty-three dollars. Eating good for the next _week._

I empty my school bookbag onto the table and pick up some plastic bags to stuff in there. I put my crutches in for in an emergency and let them stick from the zippers.

I went at a slow pace, moving the truck at a slow speed to just take in the undisturbed nature. I mentally reminded myself to grab my camera next time I came out here, and get the nature shots for my portfolio. Once I think I see the spot, I stop, pulling over and heading down the slated hill. I was almost bombarded with the mature fiddleheads that haven't been out to long. Sue was right, the Quileute lands were _filled_ with fiddleheads.

I held a plastic bag in my hand, it was mid April now and the perfect time to pluck fiddleheads from the forest, before the ferns grow any bigger and made them obsolete. While they were far and few in between on the West Coast, I'm lucky enough to fill three of my bags in the span of ten minutes. As thanks for being the best Dad ever, I'm going to be making it in stacks. And while I'm at it, I'll give some to Billy as well since most of their meals involve Ragu and precooked pasta.

My last plastic bag was nearly full by now, but I still hunted for them. These things were always there one day, all good and ripe, but by the next they were bitter and not edible anymore. If worst comes to worst I'll stuff them into my bookbag - forgoing the plastic casings - and wash them _really_ hard. I was going to do that anyways, but my bookbag is gross, with crumbs and dirt at the bottom.

To fill up the rest of the last plastic bag I had to scrounge a little, picking through some moss and bushes. I jumped at some rattling behind me, feeling my heart race. I stood up, tiptoeing over till I saw the cutest small baby rabbits. I gasped and started stepping away, feeling like I'm invading on the mother rabbit's home. I picked up my bags and said a quick sorry - knowing that they wouldn't understand but it eased my conscious.

I head back for the truck, yanking the door open and throw the bags in on the passenger side so I could sit on the peacefully while I drove. Before I put the key in the ignition, I rub my legs just a bit to get any aches that remain out, and once I realize it's a futile endeavor. I groan in agitation and start for the only grocery store in Forks.

Like all things in Forks, it's just off the highway, about half a block away from Newton's Olympic Outfitters. I put my handicap permit on my rear view mirror and parked in the assigned spot. The store itself was big enough, with plenty of food and more than enough of what I need. I grab my wallet out of my bag's front pocket and started for the automatic opening doors. It was just a tinge warmer in the store than outside.

"Hey, Gwen!" Ben waved, stacking soup cans. I waved back, making my way to where he was, cart supporting most of my weight. "What're you doing here?"

"Just getting some groceries, what about you? Having fun?" I teased, even though I knew he had more money in his bank account than I do.

"Oh totally. Chef Boyardee always gets me pumped," he joked back. I quietly laugh and grab two soup cans of cream chicken. "I'll see you later?" I nod and gave a little wave before continuing on. I was getting to the frozen section that should have some fully prepared vegetables that only needed to be steamed. I continue on to the milk section and then to the cereals, where I grab a few snacks for me and Dad - mostly different types of granola bars. While reaching for some Fruit by the Foot another hand took it before me.

"Gwen," he whispered. My face became a little red looking at the Cullen. When I took my nap, I dreamt of three obscure things and he was one of them. And that bothered me... along with embarrassing me. The hand with the box was brought up as if for me to take it, I looked up from his hand to the golden topaz of his eyes.

"Thanks," I reply, putting it into my cart and went to continue on and _past_ him. "How do you do that?" I quickly ask.

"Do what?"

"Appear out of thin air."

"Gwen," he chuckles. "I can't help it that you're incredibly unobservant to your surroundings." I narrow my eyes and move to keep walking.

"Why the traffic jam today? You could have waited for your family in a _parking_ spot."

"That was for Tyler's sake, not mine." I gaped at him. "I had to give him his chance."

"You..." I grunted out of aggravation. I couldn't think of a bad enough word to call him in that moment, not that I could. There was a mom and her children coming around the corner for their own snacks. Edward seemed amused by my stumbling of words. "Just stop alright, you didn't want to be friends so now you've decided to irritate me to death. Cool."

I must have stepped over a line, my dark humor (I didn't think it was dark in the slightest, but with our earlier events and my words, I guess it was to him) not processed. His eyes lost all mirth and his mouth went into a straight line. "You're an idiot for even thinking that I would want you to die," he sneered. I rolled my eyes and began pushing my cart, trying to get away from the guy. I wanted to punch him and the last thing I needed was my dad's colleagues coming down here to give me a ticket for aggravated assault.

"Wait," he called out and I had a sense of deja vu from last month when he stopped me in the hall. I don't repeat my action of stopping like last time though, I continue to walk through the next aisle, picking up some laundry detergent, the off-brand one that smell like strawberries that I adore. "Gwen, please." He keeps his pace up with mine and I found it _highly_ annoying considering the fact that I was going at my quickest walking pace. "It was rude to say it," he tells me. "True, but rude nonetheless." I stop my cart and Edward's at my heels, stopping too.

"Why won't you just leave me alone?"

"I wanted to ask you something, but I became heavily side tracked." He gestured to me with the basket in his hand, a chuckle leaving his lips. The mirth was back in his eyes and the crooked smile back on his face. I've seen people like this, in the hospital wards. There was an elderly woman, her name was Janice. She was angry one moment but then happy the next.

"I'm not asking to sound rude, but do you have bipolarity? Because you're showing heavy signs of it and should be seen by a doctor." He looks amused at my words. "I'm serious, it's a serious mental issue that should be taken to the utmost care for."

"I've been tested," he jokes, crossing his arms, the basket filled with random goods dangling from his fingers. "But you're doing it again, making me go off track."

"Fine," I sigh. "What did you want to ask?"

"Well, I was wondering, the week from this Saturday - the day of the spring dance -" I glowered at him.

"Are you trying to seem funny? Because it's not a good joke if we're going to be honest."

He looks a me, a reprimanding stare. "If you'll let me finish." I nod, interlocking my fingers in front of me and biting my tongue. "I heard you weren't going to the dance -"

"More like eavesdropped on my conversation with Mike." Edward gave me a half-hearted glare. "Alright, go ahead."

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to Seattle with me? I need to go there and I wouldn't mind you tagging along."

I turned to face him head on, my breath hitched and I was blown away by the question. "Uh, I thought you didn't even want to be friends?" I asked, leaning my back partially on the cart.

"I said we shouldn't be, not that I didn't want to be," he reiterated. I took a deep breath and gave him a fed up expression.

"Why? Why invite me?" I inquire. "Cause, I was planning on going by myself that weekend."

"You're interesting, Gwen. One of the few people I can tolerate at this school," he answers. I nod somewhat understanding. "And if you were planning on going by yourself, then well… I don't think your truck would make it that far."

"My truck is completely fine, thanks," I sarcastically reply, moving my cart once more. Today was filled with its up and downs and this trip was turning into a down.

"But can you get to Seattle, with one tank of gas?"

"That doesn't concern you, not even a bit." We get it. You have the latest Volvo that shines like a goddamn diamond and can do forty to a gallon or something.

"The wasting of nonrenewable sources is everyone's business though."

I stopped again, and glared at him. "Listen here, Edward," the sound of his voice on my tongue sent a jolt of electricity through me and I _hated_ it. Stupid teenage hormones being a little fucking shit. "Don't be my friend because you feel like you have too. If you do, then keep it that way, because I _cannot_ keep up with _you._ "

"I never said I didn't want to be friends, I only said we shouldn't be," he reiterates.

"That clears so much up, thanks for that." I look over my shoulder and realized _that was a bad move_. Because despite my anger, the look on his face simmers it. He looks pained, and his eyes... they remind me of some friends, some of the kids. They had terminal illnesses with no way to survive. And they accepted it. His wasn't exactly like that, but it was pretty damn close.

"It would be better if you didn't, Gwen. But I'm weak, and I can't stay away anymore." I turn completely, leaning onto the back of cart. His eyes are still as intense as they were, but softer. "Please, Gwen. Let me take you to, Seattle." I breathe in deeply before nodding.

"Alright, just… keep the… whatever it is going on that makes you think we shouldn't be friends down to a minimum alright? Now, I have to get home. My dad's probably starting to worry." I turn and leave him behind, heading for the checkout.

Ben was there in an instant, helping me to ring my items up. "So, I have a question for you, _Gwendolyn,_ " he dragged my name out. I raised an eyebrow. "How would you ask someone out, that you like a _lot_?"

"Are we talking about me asking out my crush," - Ben's eyes widened and his mouth opened - "If I had one," I stop his inquisition. "Or are we talking about you asking little ole Angela out?"

His face started getting the slightest hint of red. "Me asking Angela," he mutters. "But I don't know how, exactly. She's so… sweet, and with a golden heart. And she has such an insecurity with her height - and I want her to know that I don't care. What do I do, Gwen?" He pouted, putting my groceries into paper bags.

"Tell her," I answer. "You didn't hear it from me, but she likes you Ben. Like, a _lot._ If anything, ask her out to the dance. I know she's going - Student Council and everything - but ask her on a date. She thinks you only see her as a friend, her teammate on the track team."

"Thanks Gwen, your total is thirty-five dollars and eighty four scents." I looked in disbelief at the little sign that had the amount I spent. "I may or may have not given you a discount."

I looked at him with a mocking smile. "Aww, you really don't hate me, do you Ben?"

"Psh," he replies. "Yeah right. I only tolerate you for Ang." I brought my wallet out of my back pocket and started counting, giving him two twenty dollar bills. "And here's your change," he tells me after a few moments. "Unless you want to give it as a tip."

"Psh," I echo his previous words. "I only tolerate you for Ang, why would I give you a tip?" I pocketed the change and grabbed the two large paper bags.

"Oh, you'll get what's coming to you, Swan!" he calls as I start for the automatic doors.

I laughed, turning my head. "Yeah, whatever, Cheney!" I was still laughing when I got to the truck, putting the brown bags into the truck much more delicately than I did with the plastic bags. I reversed out after putting my handicap sign down and back into the glove department. Once back at the Swan residence, Dad had immediately came outside, going into the passenger seat and taking as much as he could carry; leaving me with two of the plastic bags of fiddleheads. I chuckled and left, taking the keys with me. Dad was holding the door with his foot and had one of the plastic bags in his mouth, causing me to laugh.

"You can make two trips," I chide at him, entering the door following by my father. He grunted in disagreement, and he continued his way into the house. I rolled my eyes at his display but followed into the kitchen nonetheless. "So, I have something to tell you."

He raises an eyebrow, taking the bag from his mouth to place it on the kitchen counter. "Yeah? What is it?"

"One, I got a discount on all of this, so it was only thirty five dollars." Dad nodded happily, saving money is something Dad's passionate about. At first - from what my uncle told me - it was because that way he had enough money to buy bus and airplane tickets since I was lucky enough to have all of my hospital bills paid for through donations and government subsidies since my father was a single parent and my mom was completely out of the picture along with my step-father. "And two, I won't be going to Seattle alone."

He turned to me now, after grabbing a strainer from the lower cupboard. "Who's going with you on such short notice?"

I started running the sink, grabbing the fiddleheads that had been strewn across the counter to wash the film off of their skins. "Edward Cullen," I answer. "He's been meaning to head to the city in a few weeks and since I'm going he decided to go too, buddy system." Dad looked torn. I could tell on one hand I wouldn't be alone. On the other had, I would be going with a boy. "He's the one who pulled me away from getting crushed my the van, Dad." This seems to ease his mind the tiniest bit. Allowing him to nod.

"Alright, I'd like to meet this… Edward." I nod, understanding.

"Yeah, of course. I'll see if I can get him to meet you sometime this week."

The rest of the night was almost like any other night, watching ESPN and quickly switching it to Comedy Central since some standup comedian Dad likes was on. But I couldn't focus on the TV like I wanted too. My mind was filled with the golden eyes I had seen at the grocery store and the black ones I had seen in class. It made my skin crawl to let my thoughts drift to the legends. The idea of them actually being Cold Ones made me want to hyperventilate. There's just only so much you can accept about a person - super strength. Super speed. Things that just don't make sense.

I went to bed early that night, trying to figure out what exactly I need to do and or understand.

But it wasn't my business. No one's died, if they are Cold Ones. And if they aren't then I'm just overthinking this and acting like a fool.


	7. Father's Approval

When I woke up, I felt better rested than I had in weeks. My arms and legs felt smooth and free, like jello. But the good kind, not like when your limb's asleep. I got up and put some everyday clothes on that consisted of a loose sweater and some jeans. For my hair I had donned a messy bun atop of my head with a black scrunchie and letting a few of my curly bangs frame my face. I saw a girl do it last week, and I had thought it looked absolutely gorgeous on her. But she naturally had straight hair while I had the curls that were hard to manage without the right hair products (thank you, Renee for telling Bella to tell me). I didn't think I looked to bad. I even threw on some random mascara I had for awhile that I had never opened. It was _hard._ I will never make fun of girls wearing so much makeup again. I had poked my eye out twice before I got it. My eyelashes seemed longer and thicker, but not like spiderwebs - Jess told me that to much mascara results in it looking like spider legs or something? I don't know how much truth is held to that - once I was done. I decided that was it for me and went downstairs, my bookbag refilled with my school supplies thanks to my loving father.

When I came down stairs I took a piece of toast off of my father's plate and grabbed my keys, the time telling me I should've head out a few minutes ago.

"Did you do something to your…" Dad put his hand around the entirety of his face, moving it in a circular motion.

I looked down, a little embarrassed. "I used that mascara I got for Christmas, and Dad?" he looked confused. "Never make fun of a girl wearing makeup. It's _hard._ " And with that I left, driving my truck into the parking lot before stopping.

British Literature was filled with death glares by Lauren Mallory. It's like I ripped her favorite white shirt and then threw coffee all over it. Once that class was done, I had moved on to Spanish. And when I came in there, there was a seating chart on the board. _New Unit, New Seats_ it said, referring to the fact we were on Unit Five of Spanish Three. I moved to my designated spot, which was right next to the door, the light of the outside easily shining on me from the windows oppisote.

Then incomes Edward, walking in and looked at me confused. "What are you…" I gestured to the board.

"New Unit, New Seats," I reply, reading the words off of the board. "I think you sit next to…" I looked at the board trying to decipher it. "Damian, back there." I pointed to the back of the room, one row over from me in the last row back towards the cabinets. Edward walks off, leaving a scent I never noticed before behind him. Did he always smell ly maple syrup?

The class was mostly just Ms. Goff explaining what we'd be doing, giving us a worksheet that was pretty self-explanatory before we were sent on our merry way to third period.

The whole class had finally shifted to basketball, and I had the okay to participate moderately. Meaning no jumps or running, which I could handle. I mostly just passed the ball to a girl named Ashley who was out of doing anything fun for the next week because she sprained her knee in the track meet with Beaver. I would have done it with Angela, but she was bad ass at basketball and loved doing it. I'm glad she did, it makes me happy to see this helped her become more comfortable with her height.

Fourth hour was Calculaus and I zoned out, unable to focus at all. I just wanted to get to lunch and take a nap on Angela's lap, honestly.

So when the bell went off, signaling my ability to do just that, I hightailed it out of the room. I made a new record for myself by being in the canteen before almost anyone else, leaving most of the students in my class to eat my dust. I got nearly first pick of food, letting myself have a chicken sandwich, some celery with a small cup of chunk peanut butter, and a thing of water.

When I got to the table, half of the regulars were already there. Along with some underclassmen (and by underclassmen I mean in my grade or a freshman) trying to hit someone up.

"Gwen!" an unfamilair boy called my name. I brefily remember him from a snowball fight that seemed like ages ago.

"Oh, uh, hi!" I waved, sitting down with my tray. "What's up?"

"Is it true you're not going to the dance?" he asks and I nod.

"Yeah, I'm not a dancing type. Well, not to the public," I joke. But he did _not_ take my joke as a joke. At all.

"Oh, like, private dancing?" he asked, smirking a bit and sitting on the lunch table now. His butt, on the place where we eat. Ew. Wait… was he insinuating…

My eyes widen when I realize what he's implying. "No, no, no."

"It's alright," he softly whispers, the table quickly filling now. "I can keep my mouth shut, if you give me a show, ya know?"

I feel my eyes open even larger, but this time not in disbelief but in anger. I stand, the chair backing out from under me. He's about my height, a few inches taller but nothing I couldn't handle. "What exactly are you saying?" I mumble out, not wanting others to hear.

"If you want your secret to stay secret, you help me. I help you."

I crossed my arms, leaning back on my good leg. "So, you're going to say… Me, a sixteen year old girl, is a stripper? The one with a cop for a father and has just been discharged from the hospital about… I don't know, a month or two ago?"

"I didn't say that," he nervously chuckled, raising his hands and clearing the air. "I just said, if you want it to be kept a secret…"

"Well, there's nothing to hide," I tell him then moved my chin in the opposite direction, anywhere from the table. "Now, please leave." He thankfully had the ability to look a bit ashamed as he left, looking down and towards his regular table.

I sit back down, finally getting back to my sandwich. Where was Tyler when you actually needed him? Or anyone? And who would say such a thing like that? And why?

"Why's Edward sitting by himself?" I hear Lauren ask, letting her tray drop to the table in a resounding slapping sound. Her voice was full of hope and her eyes set behind me as I munched further into my sandwich. Her words made me break out from my daze of possible scenarios to happen at any given point. Some of them not even possible.

"He's staring at you again," Jessica dejectedly told me, looking a bit sad as she picked at her cream corn.

"Why _is_ he staring at you?" Lauren cuts in, her tone changing into one of aggravation.

I tilted my head at the two and shrugged. Angela sat down then, hitting my shoulder and pointed over to the corner of the room as discreetly as possible. Following where her finger directed to was Edward, who low and behold, was sitting by himself in the Canteen. The topaz in his eyes bored into my dark brown and a single finger of his came up and waggled, beckoning myself over.

"Oh. My. God." Jessica gasped, and I turned to the other three girls. "Is he doing that too, Gwen?" she asks the table with an insulted astonishment.

"The hell does Edward want with you?" Austin came to the table, falling to his chair across from me with a rattle. I shrug once more.

"I don't know. He probably needs help with bio or something, maybe Spanish. We started a new unit today," I mumbled, more for Jessica and Lauren to get off my back than anything.

"I'm hungry!" I hear Ben groan, coming to sit at the table. I slide him the rest of my food, only taking the orange form his hand as keepsake - along with my water bottle. "Uh, thanks dweeb," he playfully says to me. I roll my eyes.

"I don't need to be the witness of a crime scene to your starvation," I evenly reply, walking off back to Edward's table, hearing the whispers of others behind me.

With backpack and a slight limp, I was at the table, where it wasn't too far but far enough for me to build up a sweat. I set my bag down but don't sit, just in case he doesn't actually want me too. "Um, what's up?"

"Why don't you sit with me today?" he asked but my mind heard it as more of a demand. I was taken aback by the request but did as he said, cautiously though. We sat in silence for a moment before I began picking at my newly found orange slices, taking one to my mouth and chewing. It seemed he wanted me to start the conversation.

"Soo..." I dragged the word on. "This is, uh. Different."

"Well..." he paused, before saying the next words in a rush. "I decided if I'm going to hell, I'm going to be doing it as thoroughly as possible." I waited for him to continue but he doesn't.

"You know, you're confusing the hell out of me." More than usual.

"I know," he smiles. "I think your friends are a bit angry for me stealing you away," he changes the subject.

I know at least one of them were. I could feel the glare that drove holes into my back from Jess. If she had her way, I'd be six feet under and she'd be where I am. "I think they'll survive. I have a feeling it wasn't going to be a good day sitting there though."

"I just may not give you back though," he teases, the wicked glint in his eye made me nervously happy. I took my bottle of water off the tray and unscrewed the cap.

"Well… if that's the case, I don't mind so much. Really though, what's the real reason you're doing this?"

"Like I told you," he says in a much more smug tone. "I've become utterly exhausted staying away from you. So I'm giving up."

"Giving up?" I incredulously ask.

"Let the chips fall as they may," he rewords. "I'm done trying to be good, to not do what I want because of what I believe. So yes. I'm giving up. Damn the consequences." The smile on his lips slipped off and the edge in his voice left no room for argument.

"And I'm confused again, so that's cool."

His -and dare I say without sounding sappy- breathtaking crooked smile appeared once more. "I always say too much when I'm around you - another problem of mine."

"Okay," I stop him, putting my bottle on the tray and clasping my hands together, hunching just a bit to get closer to his face. "I need a straight answer here. Are we friends?"

"Friends..." he mused, looking off.

"Or not."

"We can certainly try," Edward tells me. "But I'm telling you now, we shouldn't be." The words behind the smile he's wearing tells me that he isn't joking.

"You say that... a lot," I point out.

"Yes, because you're not listening to me. I'm not good for you and if you were smart, you'd stay away from me." A heartbeat goes by before he continues. " _And_ Alice."

"Cool, I'm not smart." He gives an apologetic smile at his word usage. "Let's keep saying I'll continue; not being smart. Are we friends?"

He gives a breathless laugh but nods. "Yes." I nod and take another gulp of water. "What are you thinking?" he asks out of the blue. I swish my water a bit, trying to find an answer.

"Trying to figure out what or _who_ you are." His jaw visibly tightened and his smile became more forced.

"Any luck?" He asks in an offhand tone.

"Not much, no," I reply.

"What are your theories?" I blush, thinking about all the possibilities I put out in my mind. Most of them I thought of while I was reading some Marvel comic books. The most prominent one in my head was Bruce Banner or a Cold One. Neither I want to detail in how I came up with them. "Not going to tell me?"

"Nah, too stupid."

"That's frustrating, you know."

"Frustrating?" I give a humorless chuckle. "You know what's frustrating? This guy who's planned to go with you all the way to Seattle, you barely know the guy and he's making these cryptic small remarks. And they keep you up at night, and you try to figure out what they mean by it, but hey. Fuck me, right?" He had the decency to grimace at my rant. "Or even better. Say the person did these _really_ bizarre things. Such as... Oh, save your life one day and then a few hours after that he says we shouldn't be friends. Acts like I don't even exist for the next month, month and a half, after that and doesn't explain a single thing. No, that's not frustrating _at all._ "

Edward's face was a mixture of amused and wary. "You have a bit of a temper, don't you?" I narrow my eyes the tiniest bit.

"Only when it comes to people having double standards." We stare at each other for a second, obviously at an impasse. Edward leans just a bit and looks over my shoulder, letting a snicker come out when he does. "What now?"

"The guy you were talking to, Dylan, your boyfriend. He's simmering in hatred, he wants to come over here and bring you back to his table."

"Dylan?" I turn around and look, seeing him staring with those beady little eyes. "Okay, he is _not_ my boyfriend," I declare. "He just tried to blackmail me, I don't think that's boyfriend material."

Edward's face turns impassive, but it's a bit scary. He's glaring behind me now, at Dylan I would guess. "Well, he thinks that way about you."

I roll my eyes. "You can't be _that_ good at reading people."

"I am," he replies evenly, his face turning smug and the crooked smile I like no longer being genuine but cocky. "Everyone's easy to read. Well, everyone except you."

"I wonder why." I breathe out taking another orange slice to my mouth.

"Are you going to eat more than that?" he gestures to my little pile of food.

"No, are you going to eat anything of that?" I gesture to his tray now.

"Probably not," he replies, the edge of a smirk appearing. "You want any?" I swallowed real quick before taking the Rice Krispie Treat off and ripping it open.

"Thanks." I take a piece off and pop it into my mouth, staring at the man, trying to figure something about him out. "I have a request."

"What kind of request?" he asks, a bit warily.

"Next time you decide you don't - shouldn't be my friend, tell me a bit beforehand so I can handle it a bit better."

"Handle it a bit better?" he asked, a little confused.

"Yeah, I thought I got a really cool friend when I gave you my notes, that you weren't just my friend to get into my pants," I nodded my head to my previous table. "Half of the guys at the table there. And then the other half of the girls hate me for it. Jess, for example, she detests the fact that Mike likes to talk to me but she doesn't show it. She's nice like that. Lauren, on the other hand, _hates_ me with a burning passion. Don't know why." I shrug. "Doesn't necessarily matter. And Alice seems to always be really busy to hang out so I've kind of stopped asking her. Only ones I truly have are my family, Angela, and Ben. But don't tell Ben," I say the last sentence quickly. "We have this relationship going on that we hate each other but we still like one another. But if you tell him I said that I'd never been able to let it down."

He looks at me for a second, before bursting into laughter, garnering the attention of most of the students near us/the entire Canteen. "That sounds fair, alright..." he took a deep breath through his mouth and then looked back up at me. "Can I have one answer in return?"

I nod once. "Shoot." I pop another piece of the Rice Krispie in my mouth.

"Give me a theory." I practically snorted with laughter. "Just one theory."

Just one? That I could do. "I walked into that one." I breathed in and then released it. "Just promise not to laugh?"

"Scouts honor," he raises three fingers and leans into the back of his chair.

"Alright, a theory of mine... really unoriginal but a government experiment gone rogue."

"How is that unoriginal?"

"It's basically Bruce Banner's entire backstory." He doesn't seem to register what I said. "You know, the Hulk? Brucey? He's a Marvel Comic Book Character."

"You're not even close," he points out after a moment of silence.

I roll my eyes. "Well, now I'm back to square one." I took a second. "Do spiders ring a bell?"

He chuckles. "Nope."

"Radioactivity?"

"Also a no." I snap my fingers in mock aggravation. "And kryptonite doesn't bother me either." He begins to laugh silently.

"Hey, you promised not to laugh!" He struggled to compose his face for a full minute. "Well, I'm just going to have to assume you're some kind of alien."

"How can I not laugh at that?" Edward struggled to keep it in.

"Could you possibly be Superman?"

"No," he finally lets out a small wave of laughter.

"But isn't that what a superhero would say?" I lean on my hand while my elbow is propped on the table. "I'll keep to that theory till you tell me the truth."

"What if I'm not a hero?" he slowly says, looking down at his hands and the smile slipping. "What if I'm the bad guy?"

"You're dangerous, then?" He looks up at me, an emotion in his eyes I couldn't even begin to comprehend. Just looking at his face, made my heart stutter and quicken. "But you're not a bad person." His face scrunches up in confusion. "No, you think you are. That's why you say we shouldn't be friends. Why we shouldn't be near each other. You're trying to be all self-sacrificing. You think you're a bad person, but would a bad person get me out of the way of that van?"

"You're wrong," he whispers, I could barely hear it. He took the lid of my bottle and began twiddling it with his long fingers. If he thought he was a bad person, then why am I not afraid? Why do I feel... safe, when I'm around him despite every word he speaks says he's not.

It wasn't till I noticed the cafeteria empty did I take my eyes off of him. "We're going to be late for bio."

"I'm not going to class today," he replies, now spinning the cap on its side.

"And pray tell, why are you not going?"

"It's healthy to ditch class every now and then."

"Well," I give a humorless chuckle. "You're braver than I am. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Gwen." Without a single glance back I start my way to the building. I got lucky. Mr. Banner wasn't in the room when the bell rang, talking to another teacher in the hallway.

Angela and Mike were in this class with me, both looking awed. Angela more so. Mike looked a bit peeved. After about half a minute later, Mr. Banner strolls into the class juggling a few on cardboard boxes. Those things were going to fall without a moment notice so I bounded over to help him with it. "Thank you, Gwen. Uh, put them on Mike's desk, please?" I nodded taking my armful and placing them precariously on the jocks desk. I settled into my seat, Mr. Banner then telling Mike to hand out the items in the box.

"Alright class," he says in his loud voice. "I want you to take one piece from each box." He produced a pair of rubber gloves, the ones doctors wear. "The first should be an indicator card," he went on, grabbing the card with multiple squares on it and showed it to the class. "The second would be your four-pronged applicator -" He held something up that looked like a nearly toothless hair pick. "-and the third is a sterile micro-lancet." He held up a small piece of blue plastic and split it open. While the barb was nearly invisible to the eye, I felt the tall tell sign of nausea. Needles. Eck.

"I'll be coming around with a dropper to put some water on your cards in order to prepare them, so please do _not_ start until I get to you." He began at Mike's table since that was the base of the whole operation it seemed, carefully putting a drop of water in each of the four squares. "Then I want you to _carefully now_ prick your finger with the lancet." Taking Mike's middle finger, Mr. Banner jabbed the spike into it. I could feel my hands clam up just a bit, hoping no one gets messy with this. The last thing I need is to be spewing up that Rice Krispie treat. "Put a small dot on each of the prongs." He demonstrated using Mike as his subject once more. I felt my stomach heave at the sight of the blood, hoping it wouldn't fall off and hit the table or something. "Then apply it to the card." He then held the dripping red card up to us to show and I tried to keep my stomach down. "The Red Cross is having a blood drive in Port Angeles soon, so I thought it best for all of you to know your blood types." He sounded ultra proud of himself. Damn, I wish I could too. "Those of you who are eighteen and need a parent's permission to donate blood, I have slips at my desk."

He continued throughout the room with his water dropper. Blood never sits well with me. When I got my first period I _screamed._ They told me I wouldn't bleed anymore from the cuts and there I was, blood all over my underwear. The doctors soon explained what was going on and that it wasn't anything major and a natural thing. This wasn't from injury. but a natural body function.

"Gwen? You alright?" I hear Mr. Banner ask, his hand coming to my shoulder blade. I swallowed forcefully and nodded.

"I know my blood type, Mr. Banner."

"Are you feeling faint?" he asks, obviously concerned.

"More nauseous than anything," I admit.

"Can someone take, Gwen to the nurse?" I didn't have to look to know it was Mike who bounced up. He came to my table and took Mr. Banner's position. "Can you walk?" I nod(which was a bad idea and made me want to throw up even more), going to stand and my arms reach over to Mike's necks, my face practically nuzzling into his letterman jacket. Mike's arm went eagerly to my waist and with me more or less hanging off of him got out of the building.

We slowly went on campus and I could feel the eyes of students looking from their classroom windows at us. By the time we got to the parking lot I couldn't take it. "I need to sit, now. Please," I begged.

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing." Mike sat me down on the curb and I pulled my hair back with my hands, letting my elbows rest on my knees and my head dangled between them. I was ready to throw up and not get it all over me. The coldness of outside helped me, but I still felt to warm. "You're green as fuck, Gwen." I groaned and fell from my position to lie on my side, the coldness of the sidewalk made me sigh in relief now.

"So cold," I whispered lovingly.

"Gwen?!" I heard a concerned voice ask, quite a distance away. This is the last person I need right now, so please let it not be who I was thinking of. "What's wrong? Is she hurt?" His voice was a lot closer than it was before and I groaned, trying to make my face go deeper into the cement.

"I think she just fainted. I don't know what happened, she didn't even stick her finger!" Mike exclaimed. I imagine he threw his hands into the air in confusion.

"It's the blood," I groan.

"What?" Mike wants elaboration.

"The blood, it was dripping." I then started to mumble. " _Me._ My fault."

"Gwen," Edward breathed out, and he was closer, I could feel him. "Can you hear me?" My eyes opened a crack. "Gwen?"

"I don't wanna hear you right now," I groan. "My head hurts. Can I just… melt into the concrete?"

"Real funny," Edward chuckled. "You must be better than you were, you have some color back in your face."

"I was going to take her to the nurse," Mike said defensively. Standing his ground... nice. "But she couldn't get any farther."

"I'll take her," Edward immediately said. "You can go back to class."

"No one's taking me anywhere," I groan, rolling onto my back. "I'm dying right here. If I'm going to haunt someplace this should be it." I see the shadows between my lashes shake their heads before looking back at one another. The sidewalk disappeared from underneath me in less than a second but the arms that picked me up felt familiar. "I will _barf_ all over you, I swear to god if you don't put me down."

"I'll take my chances." Edward's chest vibrated with contained laughter. He picked me up as if I was a three-pound weight. He was already walking when Mike started arguing.

"Hey!" he called out, already eating Edward's dust.

"You look awful," Edward comments, grinning all the while.

"Sweet talker," I mumbled into his shirt. It was cold. I like cold. Cold is good right now. He also smelled like syrup. Maple syrup.

"So you faint at the sight of blood?" Edward asked. He was to entertained by this. I didn't bother to say a word this time and just closed my eyes. I fought with myself as well, willing my stomach to not upheave its contents and ruin Edward's nice clothes that probably cost more than my medical bills. "And not even your own blood."

"Blood's blood." I finally respond. "It all looks the same." Warmth enveloped me, making it an uncomfortable combo between the cold of Edward and the office. How did he even open the door with me in his arms?

"Oh, my!" I heard Ms. Cope gasp.

"She fainted in Biology," Edward explained. I finally willed my eyes to open since we stopped, we were in the office and Edward was striding past the front counter and into the nurse's office.

"Gwen, is it your legs?" I hear the hurried breath of Mrs. Poppy, a grandmotherly lady.

"No, she fainted in biology," Edward repeats before gently setting me on the leather-covered mattress. The crinkly paper that's always over them moving and throwing loud sounds.

"Oh thank goodness," Mrs. Poppy sighed. "She's just faint then. You've been doing so well on your legs despite the accident, dearie. We'll just have you lay down for a bit and let it pass. Does this happen often?"

"Sometimes." I heard Edward fake a cough to hide his laughter.

Mrs. Poppy seems to realize it too and turns to look at Edward, aggravation apparent on her face. "You can leave now," her voice was clipped, trying to make sure he knew he wasn't wanted.

"I was told to stay with her." He had said it with such assured authority that I nearly believed it to be true. But Mrs. Poppy didn't do anything but purse her lips before she turned back to me.

"Does this have to deal with the trauma on your file?" I nod. "Alright, I'll get some ice for your head then dear. Don't move."

"You were right," I groaned out after she went out the door.

"I usually am," Edward said in a smug tone. "But what about in this particular moment?"

"Ditching _is_ healthy. I should have done it, damn the consequences." I repeat his earlier words, earning a heartfelt smile before it fell into a look of concern. Edward shifted closer to me, sitting on the floor next to the bed.

"You scared me there for a second," he whispered. As if it was a humiliating weakness to him. "I thought Newton was dragging your dead body into the woods."

I gave a small laugh. "Well, that's better than this."

"What happened out there?" Edward tried to ask, nodding in the direction of where I probably was lying outside.

"I get nervous and sick at the sight of blood," I truthfully reply. "It's nothing that ba-" I stopped talking when I felt the acid make its way up my throat. I went to go to the trash can next to the desk but it was in front of my face before I could even realize. I threw up the contents of my stomach earning a rush from the nurse to come in, all in a tizzy. I stopped heaving only to look at the wall, a thousand yard stare. "Oh god," I cried into the trash can before I continued to throw up more till there was nothing left.

Once I was completely done, everything I've eaten since sixth grade was gone and I was told to lay back on the bed with a damp washcloth on my forehead. A few moments passed till I realized a hand was petting my hair. "Well, that was fun."

"I don't think Mike would have survived that," I reply. Remembering how he was acting when he saw me getting really nauseous on the sidewalk. "He'd be in this bed _with_ me." I exaggerated a shudder before looking back over to him. "I thought you were ditching?"

"I was in my car, listening to a CD." I nodded slowly. Yeah, that's something he'd do. I think?

"Didn't think to head home," I asked. "You wouldn't get in trouble then."

"Eh, I think they'll let it slide," he smiles at me.

I chuckled and felt myself nuzzle into his hand when I started falling from my hair. "Your hair feels really nice."

"We got another one!" Ms. Cope called, I sprang to my feet, and going to the office room for a seat. I was dizzy and tired but a lot better than I was ten minutes ago. While I was getting out I handed Mrs. Poppy the damp cloth.

"Probably should give it to him," I nodded to the door where they were sure to come in. Then wobbled in Lee Stephens, his face sallow and sunken in. His regular dark mahogany skin turned ashy.

"Gwen, come on, get to the office," Edward urged and I didn't need to be told twice. I fell to a seat in the office, letting my head hit the wall. "You actually listened to me?" the man was stunned.

"I smelled the blood," I argued. I was going to leave the room anyway, he didn't need to tell me. Lee was sick from his own blood, not watching others.

"Humans can't smell blood," he argued back. Instead of giving him the real reason, I gave him a bull shit one that sounded like it made sense.

"I've been living in hospitals for over ten years, Edward. I can smell blood. It smells like rust and sea salt." I gagged with my mouth closed. I looked up to see Edward's expression, like what I said was unfathomable. "What?"

"It's nothing."

After the last syllable, Mike came from around the corner and glanced at me and Edward. Oh fuck, Mike _hates_ Edward with a passion, I realize. I shook with silent mirth and closed my eyes real tight. "You look better," I heard Mike accuse.

"Keep your hand," I raised my own in emphasis. "In your pocket."

"Ah, city girl or hood rat?" Mike asked playfully, I don't think he was expecting an answer so I kept quiet. "Besides it's done bleeding. So are you coming back to class?"

I gave a false laugh. "Ha! The second I walk into that room I'll be walking right back and I don't want to walk for the rest of the day."

"Hey, you going to the beach this weekend?" Mike changed the subject. I shook my head.

"Didn't know anyone was."

"Yeah, you wanna?"

I shrugged. "I might just go see family for this weekend. I don't know."

"Well if you do, we're all meeting at my dad's store at ten." His eyes flickered to Edward, realizing he may have just given to much information to his 'enemy'.

"I'll think about it. I'll be sure to tell you beforehand."

"Sweet, I'll see you later." He slowly walked out giving a fallen face once to me and slipping out the door.

"Fuck," I groan.

"Language," Ms. Cope chided.

"Sorry, ma'am." A body came next to me and sat there, waiting. I looked up and saw the pale face and auburn hair and immediately fell on his shoulder, which was now jacket-less.

"Ms. Cope," I heard Edward speak up. "Gwen threw up in the nurses' office, doesn't that mean she has to be sent home?"

I heard a sound of confirmation. "Let me just check in with the nurse to see if she can." A few moments pass and a sound of returning shuffling feet are heard. "Mrs. Poppy said yes, but she doesn't want Gwen driving. I'll call up Chief Swan and tell him to come get you."

"I can do it," Edward ejects in. Like I said before, his voice? Melted. _Chocolate._

"Alright, do I need to excuse you from class?" I felt him nod. "Alright, you two will be all set. Get better soon, Gwen." I give a halfhearted thumbs up and go to stand.

"Can you walk or do I need to carry you again?" Edward said, now that the receptionist was gone once more.

"I can walk," I grumble. Edward moved to walk in front of me, holding the door open while with a smile. His eyes showed his amusement though and I was getting fed up with it. "Thanks," I say reluctantly, but with sincerity. "It was really sweet for you to do that." Edward's face beamed and became more happy than amused.

"Anytime," he replied. "What beach are you all going too?"

I gave a side smile, now amused. "Gonna crash?"

"Maybe," he teased while we walked to his car.

"I heard them saying something about First Beach, the one on the Rez."

"And...it's this weekend?" Edward asked, a little put off.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm probably not going, I'll just sit at home instead. Have a lazy day and sleep."

Edward sighed with extra effect. "I'd go, but I'm not gonna push Mike and farther than he has. We don't want him to snap now, do we?" I looked up at him, his topaz eyes dancing with the ides.

"The two of you don't like each other, do you?"

"Nope," Edward popped the 'p'. "Passenger's side is open." I rip open the car door and sit down. And come to a realization.

"Shit, I don't have my bag or keys to my truck."

"I'll have Alice grab them," Edward tells me. "Don't worry." Once he starts the ignition the radio pumps on, it was quiet but I was interested. It sounded like an orchestra or part of one. I twisted the nob till I could hear it, coming to find it was just a piano by itself, not noticing Edward's eyes on me.

"Sorry," I say, taking my hand off.

"It's alright," he replies and starts backing out.

"Claire De Lune, right?" I ask, pointing to the radio.

"You know Debussy?" Edward asked, in utter surprise. I guess with our generation it is a surprise.

"Yeah, it's my favorite of his works. Though Arabesque part one and part two are really close, and it's the only classical pieces Dad actually likes."

"You speak of your dad a lot," Edward commented. "What about your mom?"

My breath hitched just thinking about her. "She's uh, in jail. Lori doesn't have any parental rights over me, so I guess you can't really call her my mom."

Edward's eyebrows furrowed at my statement. "Why's she in jail?" I took a deep inhale and then a deep exhale. "If that's too personal, you don't have to tell me." I shook my head.

"If you search up Lori Black you'd see it all over the news from several years ago. So it doesn't matter." I shrug. "My mom neglected me, severely when I was a kid. She had this weird fascination with breaking bones. Specifically my bones. And even more specific, my legs." I gestured, and we turned the corner where I lived. It's such a small town that everyone knew where everyone lived, and I kind of like that. "She was charged with Severe Child Neglect, Endangerment of a Child, and Abuse of a Child. She's in jail for like... twenty-five years." We stopped in front of my house but I didn't get out and instead fiddled with my hands, hearing the rain pelt down on the car.

"But I'm all good now." I take in a deep breath, a familiar syrup smell lingering in the car, it calmed me down. "I have Charlie, my dad. He's my best friend, and even if he is the most emotionally constipated adult known to man or one the worst cooks," I joke. "He's been with me every step. Literally and figuratively. He always made sure to be there for me no matter what, even when I was over two thousand miles away." I stared at my hand, how small it is when it was in my father's. "He sacrificed a lot to take care of me. If it wasn't for me, he could have had a wife, another kid or something, and just put me into the system to let the government take care of me. But he isn't like that. He barely knew me when he got the call. That I was in the hospital and that he was listed as the next of kin. But he took the first flight from Seattle to Miami to get to me, not even _knowing_ who I was." I felt tears come down my face. "I owe him... _everything._ " I wiped the tears with the sleeves of my sweater.

I felt the hand with poor circulation rubbing my tears away. "Hold old are you?" he whispered, befuddled. The rain started to look like we were under a waterfall now, and I dared not to get out for quite a bit.

"I just turned sixteen in January," I answer. "Why?"

"You don't act your age," his tone reproachful. I laughed a bit, the sounds coming out a bit hoarse then what I usually have and more tears in my eyes. "What?" he asked, curious once more.

"Dad always said I was born in my fifties, that I keep getting older and more grey haired every year." I wipe the tears from my eyes again this time, they stay dry but I could tell they were red and puffy. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Letting me get that off my chest. Ugh, I really needed that."

Edward licked his lips and looked at the gear shift before looking up at me. "Do you think your dad would let you date someone scary?"

"My dad?" I ask, taken aback again by his questions. "If you're talking drug dealer no, if you're talking about yourself, still no."

Edward looked amused at this. "Me?"

"You have been the one saying you were the bad guy." I unbuckle my seatbelt and lay my back on the passenger door so I'm facing him. I wipe my eyes to get any remaining tears off, knowing that I should probably get out soon.

"So why not me?" he asks, leaning his arm on the door and propping himself up with a closed fist at his temple and a near flirtatious smile.

"I'm his youngest, he's repeatedly told me I can't date till I'm officially thirty." A running gag between me and him. "But, if you like baseball and maybe hunt? Fishing or bow, you're a shoer to changing his mind." Edward chuckles at that.

"That's my family in a nutshell," He tells me, his smile genuine and true. I smiled at him, wishing he'd act this way more.

"What is your family like?" I ask, a little dreamily.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific," he teases.

"Alright... Dr. and Mrs. Cullen adopted you, right?" I try to verify. I'm not giving my one hundred percent trust in _anything_ Lauren or Jess said about them.

"Yes."

"Would you mind if I asked what happened to _your_ parents?"

Edward started to look more solemn. "They died a long time ago." His tone saying it was matter-of-fact.

"I'm sorry," I say, because what else _can_ you say?

"It's alright. It happened a long time ago, I barely remember them. Carlisle and Esme have been my parents for as long as I can remember."

"You love them, a lot." It wasn't a question, but a statement. He did, and he'd do anything to make them proud.

"I do." He smiles again. "I can't imagine two better people."

"And your siblings?"

He looked at the dash just as I did, following his gaze to the clock. "My brother and sister, and Jasper and Rosalie for that matter are going to be very cross with me if they have to wait out in the rain."

"Oh, I'm sorry." I move to the door handle. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"No, Emmett and I are starting the weekend early. Supposed to be nice out so we're hiking to The Goats Rock Wilderness, just south of Rainier." I nodded.

"Seems fun, well. I'll see you later, tell Alice to text me."

"Gwen," I turned to the man, the rain let up the slightest bit as I had the car door open a crack but not much. "Is it... alright if I ask Alice for your number?" I smiled and nodded.

"Friends should have each other's numbers, right?" I asked with a smirk before opening the door and slamming it closed. I made a hurried pace to the door, moving the ern of flowers for the key underneath it and unlocking my door. I turned to look behind me to see Edward still there, waiting. I smiled and waved at him before entering. And once inside and the door closed did he leave.

He's a nice guy, I think Dad would approve of him. If he even truly thought of me that way.


	8. Legends Hold Truths

You know, even while I'm in my bed reading with some light indie music on, I'd have expected to hear my obnoxiously loud truck pull up, considering how loud Jenny truly is. But when I look out the window to see how the rain's let up, it was there on the curb, parked oh so nicely.

I picked up the Full Completed Works of William Shakespeare and started reading the third act of Macbeth, the only part of the play I had become unfamiliar with. Friday was not going to be fun and I knew it. There were passing comments about my episode yesterday and Lauren seemed to have gotten a real kick out of the story too. Mike was nice enough not to say anything else, especially about Edward's involvement on the whole thing, but that didn't stop Jess and Lauren from asking about lunch yesterday.

"So, what did Edward want yesterday?" Jess started, the second we sat down at the table, my crutches nowhere to be seen.

"He never really got to the point," I answered. "But hey, he let me have his Rice Krispie Treat. I think that's a win." I smirked when I heard some laughter from a few guys and Angela.

"You looked kind of mad," Lauren fished.

I shrugged, making sure to keep my face neutral. "Might have just been my face."

"I've never seen him sit with anyone but his family before," Lauren continued and picked at her nails. "It was weird."

"A change of scenery is good for the mind," I reply, taking a bite out of my piece of celery with a loud crunch. Lauren rolled her eyes and flipped her recently dyed hair. It was now the palest blonde you would ever see, and it made her gray eyes stand out even more. It suited her.

And the worst part of that Friday was that I knew Edward wasn't going to be there. He wasn't in Spanish and then he wasn't in Biology but I kind of hoped he would be. That when I walked into the Canteen he wasn't there. Only Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper sat there by themselves. And to my horror, I felt my stomach drop not know when he'd come back. Though I expected Monday, it still kind of sat there. Made me a bit mad that he could make me feel like this when all I wanted was to go to school and then college, get a good job and let my dad retire in peace so what he had to worry about the most was where he planned to fish next.

At the usual table, everyone was in full gear for tomorrow. Angela got me on board with whale watching, and I've never seen a real whale before so I thought maybe it'd be fun. Especially getting to hang out with Angela and teasing Ben the whole day. He was like an older brother I never had and got to tease, and it was fun.

Mike had put his utmost trust into the weatherman. "Sixty-four degrees, sunny, and some rad kids all hanging out for the day," he said. Maybe this beach day wouldn't turn into a total bust. Lauren sent me a few nasty glances every once and awhile but I wouldn't be able to tell you why. Most likely it was the Edward thing, my first day she was pretty upset over him so it'd make sense. What didn't make sense was why she was talking about me the way she did.

I was behind her, walking up to ask about what I missed in APUSH yesterday but then overheard the conversation. "... don't know why Gwen," she sneered my name. "doesn't just sit with the Cullens. Or better yet, next to the garbage cans." I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath and walked past her, trying not to let her get to me. I heard her suck in a breath when I did, probably at being caught but I didn't care. I just wanted this day over with.

When I told Dad of my planned trip to La Push for tomorrow he was ecstatic. The only time I have gotten out of the house was for school and the annual monthly bonfire for the tribe. Angela was planning on picking me up and Dad wanted to meet her before she did. I texted her to ask and she said sure. While he knew of every name I put out, he still wanted to meet her. Considering the times she has been over was for school work and more times than not, Dad wasn't home.

And I forgot to tell Edward Dad wanted to meet him. Good on, me. I'll make a note of it in my biology notebook so I can ask him right away to meet my father.

"So I heard there was this hiking trail, called Goats Rocks," I said offhandedly.

"Yeah, what about it?" Dad took a large bite of the sauteed fiddleheads and I played with my food a bit.

"Some kids were talking about camping there or hiking there. One of the two. Anyway, I was wondering if it was a good place to hike? At least for me?" I looked from the police officer's eyes to my legs and back up and he sat in his chair, leaning back.

"It's not a good place for camping or hiking," Dad told me, surprised that I'd even ask. "Too many bears. Most people go up there during hunting season."

"And it's not hunting season now, is it?" I ask.

"No it is not, I may need call Rainer police department. There maybe poaching," Dad mumbled and I shook my head.

"I probably got the name wrong, Dad. Don't worry about it."

Sleep came to me easy that night and my legs were golden the next morning. The only ache I had was in my right and no matter how I moved them they seemed to have just been the same. I decided to be cautious, just because I didn't want to have to take two steps forward then four back. And when I opened my curtain, there it was. The sun. I took a deep breath and let it wash over me before I started getting ready for the day.

After brushing my teeth from breakfast and brushing my hair, I put on some Aztec printed joggers and a white t-shirt. I also took Dad's jean jacket that was insulated with fleece just in case. I grabbed some sunglasses and started for the living room waiting for Angela, I mindlessly grabbed my camera, because if I was going to see Amy, I was for sure going to show her my friends and what I've been doing. And once the doorbell rang Dad was the first to get to it.

"Angela Weber, how are the twins?" he asks, shaking her hand while she takes a step into the house.

"Good, this sun will sure get their spirits up," she joked with him. "Thank you for letting Gwen come with us on such short notice, Mr. Swan."

"Eh, the kid needs to get out of the house," he jokes while I walk up behind him, using the same book bag from getting fiddle heads and my crutches sticking out of them. "And please, call me Charlie."

"Yeah, the kid needs to get out," I joke back before taking Angela's hand. "Alright, I'll see you later, Dad!"

"See ya." He waved closing the door behind us. Getting into Angela's silver Ford Focus we took off for Newton's Olympic Outfitters which was just north of town. I'd driven past it on a few occasions but had never stopped there. Mike's Suburban and Tyler's Sentra were the most easily recognizable cars there. Ben was already there with Eric and another one named Connor, I think. Jess was already here with Lauren and another girl whose name didn't come to mind. Lauren whispered something to the other girl and her mouth gaped and stared at me while I got out, giving me a sinister glare.

"You came!" Mike exclaimed, obviously happy. "And I told you it was going to be sunny!"

"Angela's the reason I came, we're going to go Whale Watching."

"We're just waiting for Lee and Samantha... unless you invited someone?" Mike asked, obviously thinking of Edward.

"I mean, I asked Edward but he said he's hiking this weekend near Rainer. He's not coming." Mike's face fell and then it perked right back up. It was easy to make Mike happy.

"You going to ride in my car? It's that or Lee's mom's mini van." I nod.

"Yeah, sure. Angela?" I asked as she came up next to me, Ben and Connor on her heels.

"I'm down. Yeah, I'll ride with you."

"Sounds good," Mike told us. "Gwen gets shotgun," he announced. I shook my head and laugh just a bit before heading to his car. I could already see Jess glowering at me. There is no such thing as having both her and Mike happy at the same time.

But the numbers worked in my favor. Lee brought two extra people and _every_ seat became necessary. I shoved Jess in the middle seat with Mike and I and though Mike seemed a little less tactful Jess was happy with the arrangement. So was I.

It's only about fifteen miles from Forks to La Push with a speed limit of fifty-five. So it took us maybe fifteen minutes to get there. And on the way there we passed the lush and gorgeous green forests. I wanted to take more pictures but we were in a moving car and that's not the smartest thing to do.

I haven't been to the First Beach for a while, not since the Bonfire, and even that was for a short time and in the dark. So when we got there and the mile long crescent showed itself, it took my breath away. The waters were a steel gray with patches of land popping up every now and then, disrupting the flow. There was only a small patch of sand that separated the water from the millions of small rocks to large smooth rocks near the grass.

We got to the regular circle that I had used before, were large logs were that was used for excursions like ours. We all claimed our spots, mine was alone on a stump and I stuffed my hands in my pockets, twiddling with my camera with my right hand.

"Have you ever seen a driftwood fire?" Mike asked, piling the logs up in a tepee fashion. I shook my head. "Well, you're going to love this then. Watch the colors." Once they were done precariously choosing how to set up the little blocks of wood did they light it. It popped up with blues and greens. We didn't have this at the Tribal Meeting, so I assume Harry of Billy brought their own wood from home.

"It's pretty," I comment. Everyone starts talking among themselves and I sat by my lonesome, watching the flames flicker and move. I quickly took my camera out and focused on the dancing colors. I got Angela and Ben taking really closely to each other over the fire. I decided at that moment I'll be giving that picture to her, it was to beautiful for her not to have.

Soon enough, most of the group wanted to go hiking to the tide pools and I immediately said yes. Lauren, Jessica, Eric, Tyler, and Angela stayed behind while the rest of us went on. The hike wasn't so bad, I tickled the back of Ben's neck with a stray feather I found on the ground and then stuffed it into his shirt. He got me back at the tide pools by splashing me with his foot later.

The tide pools were always pretty. I remember the one week the doctors allowed me out of the hospital, this is where I spent nearly everyday. To me it was a perfect place. Serene and beautiful. The anemones swirled in the invisible current and if you looked closely enough you could see the small swirled shells scurrying on the bottom. After taking nearly twenty different pictures, I decided to head back and Connor decided joined me. We made small talk about Macbeth and how the test on Monday could have been better planned by Ms. Bruer.

When we got to First Beach I immediately recognized the locals with their ebony hair and copper skin. I picked up my pace and quietly and quickly jumped onto Embry's backs who just screamed and tried to get me off, until he heard my cackling laughter. "GWEN YOU ASS!" he yelled.

I unwrapped my legs and arms from Embry's body. "What's up, Em?" It earns me a head rub, messing up my hair.

"Nothing much, we brought some of Billy's sandwiches, want one?" I groaned in pleasure at just the idea of it.

"Please!"

"You know him, Gwen?" Lauren asked, twisting her finger around her hair. I nod.

"Yeah, he's my cousins best friend." Her peak of interest drops and she turns to a new guy, someone that Lee brought. "Come on, let's go." We started to a new driftwood circle and this one I recognized even more. Most of the teen from our tribe were there, including Leah and Sam, much to my surprise. "What's up guys?"

"And so we stole our own back from the white people," Quil jokes, making me laugh just a bit. "Here." He throws me a little baggie that has the famous braised brisket sandwich this is Billy's secret smoked meat he does himself, made of venison. I took it out and started chewing down, enjoying the light banter from everyone else. Most of it was from school, which I wasn't there for, but it was still amusing nonetheless. I got some pictures of them making playful banter and one of Seth giving both Leah and Sam some bunny ears while they cuddled one another.

We got onto the topic of cars and my truck was brought up. "Gwen's truck wouldn't be able to go over sixty!" Jacob argues in his Rabbit's defense when Seth went off that my car was better than his.

"You don't know that," I argue. "Jenny is a sweet pea who has done nothing wrong."

"Ask Jenny about the several shirts she ruined," Jacob teased back.

"At least it can survive a collision," Seth chimed in my defense once more. "And it kept Gwen from being _killed._ "

"I don't think a tank can take out that truck," Jacob pointed with his soda bottle towards the supposed direction of Forks. Next I know Lauren is coming up and sitting _really_ close to Jacob, nearly in his lap.

"You know Gwen, Jacob?" she asked, as if it was a gross thing. I shook my head just the tiniest bit, but Jacob caught it.

"Yeah, she's my cousin. My favorite one," he smirked.

"You're Native?" I hear from behind me, seeing Eric walk up on us with Mike on his tail.

"What did you think I was?" I asked, gesturing to my face. "I'm not exactly the palest person you know."

"I was thinking Mexican," Eric tells me, staddling an empty log.

"Well, my grandmother is filipino - my dad's side, so it's hard to distinguish the two from what I've been told."

"Gwen, I was just telling Tyler," Lauren gestured to the other circle. "That it was too bad that no one invited the Cullens could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?" I rolled my eyes but let her continue anyways.

"You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?" Embry butted in, his foot stepping on my driftwood seat and leaned on it, taking a swig of the Dr. Pepper.

"Yes, do you know them?" Lauren asked, condescendingly.

"The Cullens don't come here," Sam interrupted. And it was left at that with no room for question. While Lauren was distracted by Tyler, who was asking her opinion on some CD or another I turned to Embry and Quil.

"Wait, so that treaty is to their," I nodded my head in the direction of Forks with my whispers. "family?"

"Yeah, thought you knew," Quil took another swig of soda. "Or that's what they say."

"No, I thought it was just a common name." I shrugged. I sighed, pulling my hair back and then over my other shoulder. Jacob nodded over the the more unoccupied side of the beach and I knew what he wanted. Mainly to get away from Lauren but also to talk to me.

"You do know that most of the tribe don't even go to Forks Hospital because Dr. Cullen is there, right?" Jacob asks once we're a ways away.

"I had _no_ clue."

"Yeah, they're saying that it's the same ones. That they're Cold Ones." My eyes widen and I looked kind of shock, I imagine.

"What the hell... but-but those are just legends!" I exclaimed, luckily not garnering any attention from the other beach occupants.

"Well, everyone's thinking they're the same ones from Great-Grandpa's age." I rolled my eyes. These people... "There are more of them now, a new female and a new male, but the rest are the same. In great-grandfather's time they knew the leader, his name was Carlisle. You know the rest, right?"

"Yeah, that this clan said they didn't want to trouble the tribe and so on and so forth so the treaty was created, even though instead of feeding off of other humans they fed off of animals. But you never know with the Cold Ones."

"Mmmhmm," he agreed. "Charlie was pretty mad when he heard that some of us weren't going to the hospital because Dr. Cullen started working there. So, I'd maybe leave that out of your little trip here."

"Duh," I told him, rolling my eyes.

"Gwen!" Mike waved his arm to get my attention as we turned back to the driftwood circles.

"Please tell me that isn't your boyfriend," Jacob whispered to me.

"Definitely not," I replied.

"We're gonna start to head out, you riding with us?" Angela asked, coming up to my side. I nodded yes and looked back at the others.

"I'll see you guys later, three weeks, right?"

"Yep, Monday as usual," Jacob nodded, obviously a little over the tribal meetings.

"See ya!" I was given shotgun again but declined and decided to sit in the back with Angela and Ben. It was quiet and a lot of us were tired. I turned to Angela and gave a small smile. "There were no whales."

She just smiled back. "Oops."


	9. Scary Dreams

Angela dropped me off back home around three in the afternoon, I finished my homework around four when I felt the vibration on my bed. I scrunched my eyebrows together, who would be texting me now? Everyone was home now and we had all just seen each other less than three hours ago.

 **Hey, are you okay?** I look at the sender and was surprised to see Alice's name. I quickly went to reply that I was and why she'd ask. She replied **I just had this weird feeling, it's gone now though. Are you busy tomorrow?** I replied no and went to put my books away. I never received a reply and shrugged it off. Okay.

Dad had to cover Officer Schmidt's shift so he was going to be gone for most of the night while still taking his own shift. So instead of making a big dinner I just decided to tackle some chores that I've been neglecting. I put some white earbuds in that were connected to my small mp3 player and put on my pajamas, sticking the mp3 in the elastic. Instead of getting the typical orchestra music I was given Girl with One Eye by the Ludes. It was a morbid song, but it fit my new somber mood.

I washed the dishes by hand and got them to even shine. I then moved on to dusting the tv and bookcases. This took me a half hour since the TV, despite being a flat screen, was filthy. I even dusted the bottom of the coffee table. After this, the laundry was next. Grabbing both dad and mine from our respective rooms and I lugged them to the stairs till I realized... I didn't have to make two trips. Dad's hamper was smaller, so I put it on my chair and buckled it up, sending it down the stairs. With a smirk at my brilliant genius, I began the trek down and into the washroom. I put my clothes in first, making sure to keep my whites out. Last time I did laundry I didn't know about that little rule and ended up with a stained white button up. It was a nice one too. After piling my clothes in I went back to the stairs and unbuckles Dad's hamper from the seat and moved to the washer to do the same thing with his as I did mine. I nearly fell into the washer trying to grab a stray white sock and ooo it hurt my stomach trying to balance like that.

I flopped onto the couch, nothing to do till that load was done and no homework to do either. I groaned and whined by myself at my predicament. I took a deep breath and got up from the couch, not knowing how long my legs will feel this good, it would be best if I did _some_ exercise. In the end, I did three reps of each one instead of two, hoping that by doing this, it won't set me back. I seemed to have timed it well because after getting through all of them two minutes later the washer beeped, signaling it was done. Grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, I took a quick chug before checking on the clothes.

After putting all the clothes that were in the washer to the dryer and two lint sheets in there for good measure like Dad told me to. I put the whites in now, pouring the detergent specifically for them and started the wash once more. I went back out to the kitchen and took another drink of water and nearly slammed it onto the table. I moved to the recently cleaned dishes and pulled a bowl out. I didn't feel like cooking anything since it was just me so cereal it would be. My Captain Crunch nearly cut the inside of my mouth but the taste was _so_ good. After that the clothes in the dryer were done, meaning the washer would be soon as well. I separated mine and Dad's clothes to our respective hampers again. Leaving Dad's downstairs since I don't know how he organizes his clothes he told me to just let him do it.

I did the same thing earlier, putting my hamper in my chair and buckling it in and pressing the button to send it up the stairs. I got up to the top before the seat did and opened my door so I didn't have to pick up the hamper and then put it back down open the door and pick it up again.

After I was done sorting my clothes I went back downstairs and did the same thing to the whites by putting them in the dryer. By now it was starting to get to nine o'clock and I had nothing to do. I didn't want to text Angela because she was doing stuff with her dad and she was the only one I was okay texting first.

In the end, I went to the bathroom and took my medication and my sleeping aid. It might just be best if I go to sleep early tonight, I can wake up early tomorrow morning and see if I can get up before Dad to give him some kind of breakfast.

I tucked myself into bed and put my crutches at my bedside, just in case. It's not unheard of to have a really great day and then the next to be complete shit. I turned off my bedside lamp and turned off my MP3. The only noise was my breathing and the small puddles cars passing through Forks would run over.

"Bad girl. You're a bad. Girl!" A studded belt came at the little girl. She couldn't run, she couldn't move. With her hands, she tried backing up but she failed to move anymore once her back hit the wall. "Trying to run? That makes you even worse!" The scream the child made was sickening. It made me want to throw up. My screams. The screams of my child self.

"Stop it!" I screamed, not the child who was skin and bones, bruises too big for her body covered head to toe. She shouldn't have had to go through this. I shouldn't have had to go through this.

"What, you think because you're big, you have your real Daddy? Real friends? That now, you can face us?" I heard the ragged sound of William. I turned around to see the angry British man. His brown hair fell on his face and his nose piercing was a striking gold. The only thing that was pretty. His nose itself was ginormous, his lips too small for his face. The blue eyes that draw you in were ready to skin me alive.

"You don't know shit," I hissed. "You're nothing but a power-hungry man, who found an easily manipulated woman and decided to fuck her life up and found an anger outlet daughters, just because you could. And now, you're mad. You're locked up for god knows how long and most likely the bitch of the prison! You always were a little bitch!"

"You take that back right now, sweetheart." The hand I hadn't seen went behind his back and pulled out the tall tell heavy duty wrench. Its orange paint chipped away in places and showed crusted blood. "Or you're gonna get it."

"Do it!" I screamed. "Do it, do it, do it, do it!"

"You won't touch her," a familiar voice hissed, furious. I turned around, seeing Edward, his pale face had his eyes downcasted along with the rest of the Cullens. All of their faces picked up at the same time, looking over us. Their red eyes taking in every single detail we had. Edward was right next to me before I could have blinked, taking my hand. "Come on, Gwen. Trust me." The room melted away and I felt his fingers entangled with mine, the coldness setting my own hand on fire.

We were in a forest. Near La Push. A few blocks from Harry's house, I realized. "What's... happening?" I whispered, looking around. I was brought into the cold chest, arms wrapped around me.

"I'll protect you," he whispered. Protect me? From what?

A growl, a dog. I turned my head to see a wolf, not a dog, in La Push? It's not unheard of but it wasn't necessarily something that happens. Edward put his hand on my lower back and nodded at the russet wolf, who just moved closer to me. It stuck its tongue out to the side in a makeshift wolf grin. A crack. A twig of some sort from the tree line the wolf had emerged from but on the opposite side. Another wolf, but this one... wasn't friendly. It was smaller than the other one, their fur pure black and their growls were menacing as it stalked to us. I was carefully shifted to the side of Edward, he took a few steps forward, but was still ways away from the wolf.

The brown speckled wolf put its head on my shoulder and sighed, closing their eyes. I turned back and Edward was being chewed on by the horse size wolf, when finally. His head rolled to my feet.

And I screamed. I bolted up and screamed bloody murder. Tears fell down my face and sobs racked my chest. I couldn't move, I felt like everything stopped. It looked so real and everything... Maybe I should skip the next bonfire? No, no, I won't. It's my culture, I haven't been to many of them and I just needed to get over it. It's a story, a myth. Right? I glanced at my clock seeing it was five oh three. I sighed and let my head fall back to the pillow. Dad didn't get off till eight, so I had more than enough time.

I moved to the bathroom with a towel in hand and got into the shower. I grabbed a razor and looked at my pale-olive colored legs that ran rampant with hair. I'd never shaved them before, doctors have on occasion so they could get to the tendons and muscles but I've never done it myself on my own accord. I decide to take the plunge and shave, carefully. Once I thought I did a good enough job on my right leg I went to my left and followed the same process. After I was done washing the hair on my head I got out and tried to towel dry my hair. I decide to let it air dry and wrapped the towel around my body once more.

My room was dark again and I turned my bedside lamp on and looked through my clothes, just grabbing an old pair of sweatpants and a U of W sweatshirt I tugged them on and foregone a bra since it was a Sunday with no plans. My legs didn't feel bad I realized, but they were nothing like yesterday. But they were smooth. Really smooth. I don't think the small amount of exertion to shaving them was the cause of their tenderness. I probably kicked in my sleep while they were resting and made it a little worse. Or maybe it was that extra rep yesterday.

I made my bed - which is something I never do, but needed to be done - and head downstairs. I started breakfast some bacon and eggs, nothing too special but it'd be something warm for Dad to eat after that twelve plus hour shift. After I was done, I left it on the table, covering it with a pan lid that was big enough for the plate. After grabbing my several boxes of Fruit by the Foot, I made my way upstairs and started straight for my desk.

Booting up the laptop didn't take long, the internet dialed up pretty quickly considering our modem. I quickly went to YouTube and started watching 'if you laugh, you lose' compilations that weren't all that funny but it kept me busy. After watching a few of those I decide to check my email. Most of it was spam and others were from colleges and their promotional propaganda. I deleted them.

It wasn't till I had nothing to do did I do it. I went to google and searched 'Cold Ones'. No results in the classified section I was looking for. Something about people in Alaska but yeah, not what I wanted. I researched the other word for it, the more common word for it. 'Vampires'. And _boom._ Over two-hundred-thousand results.

I found a somewhat promising site, Vampires A-Z. I remembered my snack and started chewing

on one while waiting for it to load. Once it did, two quotes greeted me.

 _ **Throughout the vast shadowy world of ghosts and demons, there is no figure so terrible, no figure so dreaded and abhorred, yet dight with such fearful fascination, as the vampire, who is himself neither ghost nor demon, but yet who partakes the dark natures and possesses the mysterious and terrible qualities of both. - Rev. Montague Summers**_

 _ **If there is in this world a well-attested account, it is that of the vampires. Nothing is lacking: official reports, affidavits of well-known people, of surgeons, of priests, of magistrates; the judicial proof is most complete. And with all that, who is there who believes in vampires? - Rousseau**_

I tried looking for anything familiar let alone plausible in any of the texts. I don't think anyone could even comprehend how stupid I felt doing this but I kept on going, wanting an answer but knowing I should dig for it. Most of the myths centered around beautiful women who lured their victims and drank them viciously, some were tales for kids that scared them to be in their homes before twilight or else they would become a meal.

I closed out of the browser and slammed my laptop closed. This is stupid. I'm stupid. This whole scenario was stupid. A ring on my phone went off and I picked it up without looking at the ID. "Hello?" I answer, sounding exasperated.

"Gwen, it's Edward." I sat straighter and swallowed down any questions I'd imagine having.

"You know, most people would just text them to say they have their number."

"I'm not most people," he replies. "Hey, uh, I was wondering, I meant to ask you on Thursday but then you got sick."

I grimace and nodded. "Yeah, that happened."

He chuckled. "It did." He then gave a pregnant pause before speaking once more. "My question, from Thursday was if you wanted to see me." My eyebrows came together and I spun my little office chair.

"You want to… see me? Outside of school?"

"Yes, you mentioned it Wednesday, at the grocery store. We barely know one another. If we're to be traveling with one another we should have a basic understanding of the other." His logic was sound but I was still a bit tired from the previous day and the medication. I decided to bite the bullet.

"Alright, sure. That sounds good. When did you want to um..." I stumbled over my words. "Hang out."

"Today? I know it's soon but I thought I'd be home yesterday, last night. Turns out I wasn't. It's not supposed to be raining today," he says and I nod, despite him not able to see. "Would you be alright with me picking you up at noon?"

"Yeah, sure thing that sounds great. I'll see you soon." And before I could say more he hung up. What is this man? I sighed and looked at my phone to see the number, before saving it in my contacts as Edward C. I exit from my contacts and see the time displayed in large blocky white numbers. It was already eleven-thirty. "OH CRAP!" I got up out of my chair and nearly fell in my attempt to get to my closet.

I got up from my hands and changed into my red sweater and black jeans as quickly as possible. Stuffing my wallet in my back pocket and my phone in the front, I began slipping on my converse - which was bit of an ordeal but I somehow managed. I tried to move as swiftly as I could across from my room to Dad's to see him in his pajama bottoms and a grey t-shirt, lying on his stomach. He was holding his pillow like it was a teddy bear and made me want to say 'awe'.

"Dad?" I whisper instead. His head pops straight up and looks over, not knowing what's going on. "Hey, it's just me," I tell him. "I was going to go hang out with Edward for a bit, is that alright?" he nods and falls back to his pillow. I take a deep sigh and go to the bathroom.

After I'm done in there I take my seat down the stairs, feeling the ache in my right leg spike a bit. I get in the kitchen and quickly eat a few grapes we have in the fridge and drink some of my warm water from yesterday. I briefly notice the plate in the sink from Dad's breakfast when there was a knock at the door. I look at the clock next to the staircase. Eleven-fifty-eight. I chuckled but still went to the door, opening it at a speed that wouldn't slam against the wall. "You're early," I tease. He gives a small chuckle and I move over so he can get into the house. "So what's the plan for today, Mr. Cullen?"

"Have you eaten yet?" I shake my head.

"No, unless you count a few grapes, several fruit roll up rolls, and some water."

"You know, most people would eat quite a bit more than that before noon." I shrug and grab my jacket from the coat rack.

"I'm not most people though," I reply, copying his words from earlier. "Besides, I don't want to hear a word from you, Mr. I-don't-eat-lunch... ever." His body tensed at this and he looked to the side as if I just pointed out his worst flaw. I stopped myself from walking to the door and instead put my hand on his chest, my face contorted into one of concern. His head turned from the wall to me and I dared not to leave his gaze. "Hey, I was just joking," I try to reassure. "Don't worry about it." He seems to be better with this response and nods lightly. "Did you get dropped off? Or did you drive here?"

"Drove," Edward answered, turning to the door with me.

"You want to hike? Or go out to eat?" I asked, going down the stairs to the damp sidewalk.

"Yeah," he breathed out. "Hiking seems fun." I nod and start for my backyard.

"Come on, we got a somewhat decent trail back here." I felt Edward's eyes bore into the back of my skull but I refrained from commenting. "I think there's also an old swing set somewhere back here that Dad made for Bella."

"Bella?" Edward asked, finally walking at my side instead of behind me once we reached the trail.

"Yeah, she's my half-sister. She used to come up to Forks every summer, visit me at the hospital a few times. But she stopped about... four years ago?" I asked myself before nodding. "Yeah, about four."

"I didn't know that," Edward confessed. "That you had a sister."

"Her mom took her when she was only three months old, left town, divorced Dad, and moved to Phionex, Arizona. Pretty much the opposite of Forks, Washington." I glance over at him to see his reaction. "But yes, I do have a sister." I look over the tree line and finally spot the rusting silver. "And here it is!" I giggled and gave a little job over to it and to the swing's chains in hand, making the seat shake a bit of the water off before I sat on it. I started pushing my legs to get higher off the ground, watching Edward look amused at my antics. "Oh come on," I griped. "Get on one! It'll be fun."

"My version of fun and your version of fun are two different things," he tells me. I just roll my eyes and pump my legs the tiniest bit.

"Alright, I told you something about me," I said over the squeaks of the swing, groaning in protest at being used after so long of just rusting. "Now, tell me something about you, besides you like to play and compose on the piano."

"You remembered that?" He seemed almost impressed.

"Well, yeah. It was one of the first things you told me, so it has to have some importance to you." I shrug. "So, tell me something."

"I was born in Chicago, Illinois," he tells me, walking even closer to the swing.

"Chicago?" I smirk. "So you a city slicker then? With your fancy cars and well-dressed outfits?" Edward gave a little laugh and looked at the ground before his gaze turned back up to me.

"I guess so, huh?" Edward's eyes sharpened and I realized his eyes were a blazing gold today instead of its usual dark topaz. "Your turn."

"Ask me something," I demanded. "Because if you don't I won't be able to give an answer."

"Alright," he crossed his arms and looked off into the trees for a brief moment to think of a question. "What was the best book you've ever read? It can be series as well."

"Ooh, tough," I complimented, my swing not going as high as before. "Well right now, it's Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. It's a good read, and with so much foliage, you become immersed in it too." I looked over at him. "Alright, same question."

"War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy."

"Most teen guys would say a Doctor Seuss book," I teased. "Good to know you're special."

"My turn to question." By now Edward had walked to a tree, leaning gently on it. "What annoys you the most?"

"Besides bipolar teens?" I joked, earning a heart-felt glare. "Kidding, but what annoys me is people who will just assume things. For example, that guy on Thursday. Dylan?" This earns me a concerned look that I wave off. "I said I don't dance in public, he assumed I only danced in private. Nothing to really worry about, he hasn't come up to me since. But now for you... " I tapped my index finger on my chin. "Alright, let's say you're in a story, what would this chapter in your life be called right now."

"A Chance," he says without even a second thought.

"A chance for what?" I say a second later.

He takes a second to think, twiddling his hands and watching the ground. For a while, I didn't think he heard me before he replied. "A chance to finally be me."

"You can't be you?" I asked, completely curious at the fact. "Why?"

Edward nodded a bit, trying to prepare an answer to the question. "Let's get something to eat." I was pulled from the swing and taken back down the trail. Edward held my hand as he led me, knowing the way. I barely even knew the way, so I was a bit impressed that he did.

I didn't know that this meal would change me. That it'd change _everything._


	10. Portrayal of the Enemy

"You didn't bring me all the way to Port Angeles just to kill me now, did you?" I tease, stepping out of the silver Prius, a smile threatening its way onto my face which would give away my facade.

Edward laughs at my ridiculousness and shakes his head. But all of it seemed forced with a simmering aggravation "If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it in your backyard," he replies. "Fewer witnesses."

"So... La Bella Italia?" I ask, trying to make the air around us just a tad bit more comfortable than I what I perceived. "I thought we'd just go get some lunch or something at the diner in town."

"It's nearly four thirty and you've barely eaten, Gwen. Humans need to eat." I tilt my head, my ridiculous theory coming to the forefront of my mind.

"I'm not _that_ hungry for a meal."

"Humor me," he replies helping me to the door. I looked around the restaurant- it was mostly empty except for a few regulars I assume. It was the offseason for Port Angeles so it was safe to think so. The hostess greeted us at her podium, with abnormal blonde hair and several inches taller than me. Her chest was puffed out but looked natural. When we entered, she smiled so brightly at Edward that it nearly bothered me. I took a deep breath to steel myself and it was a good reminder to be given.

I'm just Gwendolyn Abendroth-Swan.

"Hello!" the woman at the desk greets. "How can I help you guys today?"

"Table for two?" his voice became alluring, and I don't even think he realized he did it. But the server still did. Her grin reached ear to ear now, her pearly whites on full display. That was, till she took an understanding of his words. Upon that, she looked over at me. Seeing the distance between us she safely assumed that there was nothing going on. This caused her slightly fallen smile to perk right back up. I stepped up a bit to garner some attention.

"Uh, can we get a booth, instead?"

"Oh... of course," her voice laced with a bit of snide. "Follow me." With a sway of her curvaceous hips did she lead us to a ring of booths - all of them empty. "Is this good?"

"Perfect," Edward smiled. She dazed just for a moment before shaking her head to get back to the real world. "Your server will be right out," she breathed before stumbling away.

"You shouldn't do that to people," I chide. "It's not nice."

"Do what?" He seemed genuinely confused.

"You practically blind people - you dazzle them. Twenty bucks she's hyperventilating in the back."

He was definitely confused at that comment, even going as far as to make a face at me.

"Alright, now you're just pulling my leg."

His head tilted to the side, his eyes oozing curiosity. "I dazzle people?"

"Please tell me you haven't been that oblivious to it." I search his face. He's either a really good poker player or he actually is that unobservant. Ha! And he calls me unobservant!

"Do I dazzle you?" he ignores my previous sentence in favor of the question, actual curiosity painted onto his face.

"A few times, here and there. But for the most part, you annoy me." His face turns from curious to almost adoring, a smile stretching.

"Hello," a new voice entered the conversation. Upon looking up I see an expectant face. The hostess? Definitely dished the dirt out on the beautiful male customer in the back room. I have little to no doubt about it. And the waitress did not look disappointed in the slightest. "My names is, Amber. I'll be your server tonight. What can I get you to drink?" Edward looked at me.

"White milk, please," I reply. My voice makes her jump just the tiniest bit as if she forgot I was there. Which was a safe assumption.

"Two milks, please," he said.

"I'll be right back with that," she flipped her black hair over her shoulder and left. I turned back to Edward to see his eyes still trained on me.

"What is it?" I ask, trying to seem more nonchalant than I truly feel at this moment.

"Nothing... nothing," Is all he tells me.

"So, any more questions?" I ask, playing with my fingers.

"Just a few. But I think they can wait." I nod and soon enough our drinks and a pile of breadsticks are sat in front of us. I'm paging through the menu for something I'd like before she can ask me. While placing them on the table, she kept her back turned to me.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked, taking out her notebook and pen from the pockets of her apron.

"Gwen?" Edward asked. I saw the waitress begrudgingly turn to me before I gave my order, her smile slipped considerably.

"Can I please have the Pasta all'Amatriciana?" I fold my menu and go to hand it to her. She took it with a quick nod and went back to Edward.

"And you?"

"Nothing for me," he said. He's never eating. Should I add that to the list? Or maybe he actually wasn't hungry. His mother is known to make a lot of food for the shelters here and in Seattle. Maybe it's the same thing at home.

"Let me know if you change your mind," The waitress - Amber - said. The coy smile that was once on her face completely disappeared and instead was placed with a professional one.

"Drink," Edward ordered, picking up one of the glasses and planting it right next to me. "You've barely eaten today and I doubt you've consumed anything else."

I nod and take a quick sip. "Thank you." The coldness of the milk ran down my chest and I shivered. Did they put ice in here?

"Are you cold?" Edward asked. I shake my head and wrap my hands under my underarm.

"No, it's just the milk.I think they got it out of the freezer or something," I jest, crossing my arms across my chest to warm myself back up.

"Here," he said, shrugging off his jacket. I never realized he was wearing one, or if I did I didn't really take a good look. The leather jacket was a light beige. Underneath it was an ivory turtleneck that hugged his body well, showing off his physique. I tried not to look long.

I didn't even get a chance to tell him not to worry about it. It was already shrugged off and already on my shoulders before I could protest. "Thanks," I breathed out instead, putting my arms through the sleeves. The jacket itself was cold, like when you grab your jacket first thing in the morning after leaving it in your car all night. It caused me to shiver for a second time. The sleeves were far too big for me so I did the best I could to shove them up my arms.

He sighed to himself. It seemed like he was having an inner conflict of some kind so I left him to his own devices. I watched him a bit while I ate the breadsticks. He finally spoke but when he did it seemed more to himself. "This is more complicated than I'd planned."

I swallowed the bite I had just chewed off. "You know when your eyes are light you're in a better mood most of the time..."

"What?" he asked, disbelief dripping. The butterscotch gold of his eyes emphasized on his pale face.

"Your eyes. Sometimes they're like this dark brown almost black color and other times they're your typical gold. When it's a light gold you're in a better mood and if they're the dark brown color you're in a bad mood," I tried to distract him from his new somber and frowning. He was pretty happy on the way here.

"You're more observant than you let on." I shrug my shoulders.

"Sorry, I'm not trying to get into your personal stuff." I gingerly take another bite of the breadstick. "Just... something I noticed."

"So, with these new observations ... are there any new theories? Something that's not from a comic book."

I shake my head but with a raised eyebrow from the man in front of me, it quickly changed to a nod. "Yeah, but it's either pretty stupid or I am."

"And?" he prompted.

As if on cue the waitress strode over carrying my dish. It wasn't till my back straightened and my arms came off of the table did I realize we had unintentionally moved in closer to each other. She set the dish in front of me - it looked well presented and smelled even better than it looked - she turned as quickly as possible back to Edward.

"Did you change your mind at all, sir?" she asked. "Isn't there _anything_ I can get you?" Was there a double meaning in her words? I swore there was a double meaning there.

"No, thank you. But some more drinks would be nice." He gestures to the empty glasses in front of me. I didn't even realize I had drunk that much. She took the glasses and turned away with a grumble.

"Alright, you were about to say?" Edward continues and I look away for a second.

"The one I'm thinking of, shouldn't be heard with wandering ears. So I'll tell you in the car. If..."

"So there's stipulations?" Edward joked. I nodded, a smile warming up my face.

"Yes. Since we've had this little bit of a game going on, all day. I want you to answer some questions. Since the theory I have, if wrong, could be me breaking a law." I paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to word this since his head tilted in confusion. "Not like a federal law or anything. But a tribal one or something, I don't know. But that's beside the point of what I'm trying to say." Amber comes back over with our two drinks and sets them on the table. She's nearly gone when I call out my thank you. "If my theory is wrong then I just committed a crime to my tribe, so the penalty, if it is wrong. Would be several questions."

"You're Native American?" Edward asks, his face says he's playing a poker game but I've been around him for nearly four hours now, he has these little quirks when he actually wants to know something, but refuses to answer.

I pushed a strand of my hair back. "Yeah, Quileute." He sucked in his lips, unaware of this new development. Well, not new. It's been the same thing for sixteen years, but for him this is unheard of. "But I want to ask a few questions before I do."

He nods, his chest stuttering as he breathed in and out. "Of course."

"Alright, let's say… hypothetically someone could read minds," I start. "Like a person that's across the room for example. Could this someone read anyone's mind, no exceptions?"

"Just one exception," Edward corrected. "Hypothetically."

"Alright, with just that exception in mind, how does that work, exactly?" I was highly thrilled that he was playing the game with me but kept my face passive. "Would this someone be able to hear your thoughts from across the world? Would they always know where a certain person is?" The moment of the traffic jam came to the forefront of my mind, along with all the speculations Edward has ever made. Too detailed and accurate to just be good at reading people.

"Hypothetically?" he asked.

"Hypothetically." I nodded.

"Well, this... someone..."

"We can call this someone... Joe." I had a fish named Joe once. Well, more like Dad did.

He smiles wryly. "Joe, then. Joe doesn't want... hmm, let's call you Jane." He jokes. "Joe doesn't want Jane to get hurt, ever. So Joe keeps tabs on her, because, despite having the sheriff for a father, Jane just can't seem to stay away from trouble. And it doesn't help that Joe can't read Jane's mind in the slightest, so her actions are always out of the ordinary. Only with a bit of intervention from Joe was Jane then safe. At least for that moment, anyway."

"I thought we were talking in hypotheticals?" I fork another bit of pasta to my mouth. "And what do you mean about intervention?"

" _Jane_ was in the woods alone," he said, it was a matter of fact. "And there are plenty of monsters in the woods. Joe just happened to be there and be the least monstrous of them all at that point in time, despite his nature. You're a magnet for accidents, Gwen."

"What do you mean?"

He seemed to waver, the previous internal dilemma he had earlier came back full force. My hand reached out, not touching him but there if he needed the comfort. His hand wrapped around mine not a second later, his eyes locking onto mine. I could tell he was deciding then and there to tell me the truth or not.

"You can trust me," I tell him. "But... I hope you never feel like I'm forcing you to do something. You don't owe me anything. If anything it's the other way around."

"How wrong you are," he whispers with a smile. His eyes look wet and ready to cry. Tears, brimming at the bottom of his eyelid reflected off the dim lights above us. "You were picking some kind of weed or grass. Not even twenty feet away was a mountain lion, in the trees above you. You were so focused on your plants that you didn't even bat an eyelash when I took the animal down, just before it was about to pounce. And me saying you're a magnet for accidents is putting it too mildly. You're a magnet for trouble. If there's something dangerous within a ten-mile radius it will be on your heels."

"You call yourself a monster... because you believe you're dangerous."

"Unequivocally." He nodded. I felt he was trying to pull his hand from my own and I tighten my digits around his. Noticing it was like all the other times I've felt them or any part of his body. It was stone and cold. Like steel on a white marble. The description of a cold one.

"That's two times then," I reply softly. "Thank you."

His face softened. "Let's not try for a third time then, agreed?"

I give a mock scowl, but the rising of the corners of my mouth show I'm not completely serious. His hand finally disengages with mine and both go under the table. Mine fall back to my fork and I take another bite. "I followed you, into the woods. I've never had tried to keep a specific person alive before, and it's much more troublesome than I would have believed. Or maybe it was just you. Ordinary people seem to make it day in and day out with fewer catastrophes."

"Did you ever think that maybe my time was up?" I quizzically ask. "That, the van, would have been nicer to die by. That fate wanted me to have a quick and painless death?"

"Your time was almost up the moment you set foot into Forks," Edward's voice hard to hear. "I just about stole you, I contemplated it in Goff's your first day of school."

His words made me feel like I got punched in the gut. The gaze he had sent to me in Senorita Goff's clear in my mind now, but the details became clearer. How he had some kind of fascination with me, I had assumed it to be with my legs and unusual crutches, but that look faded within the minute. It turned to one I could clearly see on his face now. Affection with a want to protect.

"But you held yourself back, for whatever reason," I rebutted. "But... why would you want to 'steal' me?" That's the one thing I was confused about. Till the reason dawned on me. "You wanted..." I put my hand instinctively to my neck. His eyes showed contemplation but also - had a slighted look - disgust, deciding once more on his next move.

"You eat; I talk," Edward bargained. The hand that had been around my neck went to hold the lip of my plate to keep it steady, already taking a bite of the food, the taste barely even registering on my tongue now. "The first time I saw you, I cared for you... a great deal. More than I should have, at any rate. It's... something very few of my kind get, considering how rare it is." I forked another mouthful up, trying to comprehend every word. "I never believed, that I had a soul. That any of my kind did. But I felt my world go from black and white to an array of colors when I saw your face. And then, I saw that you were injured. And I thought the worse. My basic instincts came out and I wanted to steal you, hide you away till you were better. To keep you safe for the rest of my days. That's why I wanted to steal you. While your entire self-calls for me, my want to protect you outweighs it tenfold." His head fell into his hand and he just... stared at the table, refusing to meet my eye.

So instead I sat, quietly with my own thoughts. I had finished my plate and was dotting my mouth with the napkin. I leaned weakly against the back of the seat, wrapping the leather jacket around me. Protect me? Why would someone want that for me? No one besides family has ever wanted to truly protect me. Hell, I needed to be protected from my own family as a kid. I glanced back over to Edward from where I stared at the wall. His head still laid in his hand and it nearly made me think he was carved from stone.

And finally, he looked up, gazing back into my eyes. "Are you ready to go home?"

"I'm ready to leave, maybe not head home just yet." I was somewhat glad over the three-hour ride we had back, maybe two if Edward drove like he did earlier. I still had my questions and the more exasperating of reasons was... I didn't want to leave him. To say goodbye.

The waitress appeared on cue as if she had been called. Or maybe had been listening to the tail end of our conversation. "How are we doing?" she asked Edward.

"We're ready for the check, thank you," Edward replied quietly but rough. Under the strain of our recent conversation no doubt. This seemed to get her to stop in her tracks and Edward was having none of it. His face turned to look at hers straight on for the first time tonight and she began stuttering.

"S-sure. Here you go." She pulled a small black leather folder from the pocket of her apron and handed it to him. There was a dollar bill already for fifty. He slid it in and handed it to her before standing.

"Keep the change," he smiled. I got up and went to follow him only for an arm to wrap itself around my shoulders and take me to the door.

"Have a nice evening!" she called out. Edward returned her sentiment with less eagerness. His eyes never leaving mine as we left the restaurant. Once back to the car did Edward finally let go of me so I can reach the passenger side. I got in quietly and buckled up thinking of the last time I was in this spot. We weren't anywhere near this serious, mostly joking and happy during the ride here. But now? It seemed like the end of the line.

"Now... your theories," Edward smirked, his joke making itself well aware.

"One more question!" I exclaimed, holding a single finger up as he drives out of the parking lot.

"One," he agreed. His lips pressed together into a cautious line.

"Well... you said that you knew I was in the woods. I was on Quileute land and there's a treaty stating-" He looked away, deliberating on his answer and causing me to lose my sentence. "I thought we were past all the foreboding quietness," I grumbled out.

He almost smiled. "Fine, then. I followed your scent." He looked at the road, giving me time to compose my face, even though it remained passive. But I was determined to know more, to know what parts of our legends were fictional and what part of them wasn't. I very nearly refused to let him be finished, now that he was finally explaining things. "And you weren't on Quileute land, for your information."

"And then you didn't answer one of my first questions..." I stalled, I was pretty sure I was over the Rez line. How would he know the reservation line? I _was_ over it. And Cullen's can't come over... right?

He looked at me with disapproval. "Which one?"

"How does it work - the mind-reading thing? Can you read anybody's mind, anywhere? How do you do it? Can the rest of your family... ?" I felt ridiculous on asking questions for a make-believe hypothetical that could very well be just Edward teasing me or pulling my leg.

"That's more than one," he pointed out. I simply intertwined my fingers and gazed at him, waiting for an answer. "No, it's just me. And I can't hear anyone, anywhere. I have to be fairly close. The more familiar someone's... 'voice' is, the farther away I can hear them. But still, no more than a few miles." He paused thoughtfully. "It's a little like being in a huge hall filled with people, everyone talking at once. It's just a hum - a buzzing of voices in the background. Until I focus on one voice, and then what they're thinking is clear.

"Most of the time I just tune it all out - it can be very annoying and distracting. It also helps to make me seem more normal." He begins to frown. "Especially when I'm not accidentally answering someone's thoughts instead of their words."

"Is there a reason you can't hear me?" I ask, my voice inquisitive.

"I don't know," he muttered. "My guess is that your mind works differently than everyone else's. For a better example of that, is your mind's on an AM radio frequency while everyone else is on FM." He smirked at me, suddenly swimming in mirth.

"Ah," I drawl out. "So... basically my mind is all kinds of screwed up. Nice to know." Maybe Lori really did do a number on me...

"I hear voices in my mind and you think you're screwed up?" Edward asks incredulously, a slight laugh to his lips. "But don't worry... it's just a theory." His face tightens and I turn my gaze to the passing trees. "Which brings us back to you."

I sighed deeply. How would I even begin?

"I thought we were passed all this foreboding quietness?" Edward threw my own words back at me.

"Alright, you know I'm Quileute," I plainly state. "And - OH MY GOD!"

"What?! What's wrong?!" Edward asks, slowing down the car.

"YOU'RE GOING ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN MILES PER HOUR AND YOU'RE ASKING ME WHAT'S WRONG!?" I scream, holding onto the handle above the car in a white-knuckled grip. I turned back to Edward from looking at my hands to grip the bar.

"Relax, Gwen. We're fine." He rolled his eyes.

"Alright, listen, you said all that stuff about protecting me, and now I'm pretty certain we're going to die. I'm going to die. You're going to die. It takes _one squirrel._ One! Edward!"

"We're not going to crash."

I take a nervous swallow and tighten the seat belt around my waist. "Why are we in such a rush? We weren't going this fast earlier."

"This is how I normally drive, I was going really slow earlier." I turned to look at him, my eyes wide and eyebrows pinched together.

"You realize you're telling this to the Sheriff's daughter, right?"

"You won't tell." Edward turned his head to give me his infamous crooked smile which made me take a hand off the handle and push his face back to the windshield.

"Eyes, meet the road. Road, meet eyes. Now stay in a _committed_ relationship."

"I have never once gotten into a car crash, Gwen. Don't worry. Not even a ticket!" He tapped his head. "Built in radar detector."

"I have been raised by the traffic rules of Washington State. And if you happen to turn this car into a pretzel around a tree trunk you'll probably be able to walk away from it, huh?"

"Probably," he answered with a short and hard laugh. "But you can't," he sighed out. The needle quickly drifted towards eighty, still higher than what we were doing earlier today. "Better?"

"You hate this, don't you?"

"I hate driving slow," Edward grumbled.

"Ah, yes. Eighty in a fifty-five. Nothing speaks volumes of slowness than a thirty-five-mile difference." My grip on the handle lessened, my fingers becoming achy from my tight grip.

"Enough commentary on my driving," Edward laughed. "Back to this theory of yours."

"You're a Cold One. There. I just said it. Laugh, do something. Am I right? Am I wrong? I don't know! I didn't even want to really bring it up because that's your business if you're one or not and _not_ mine."

"Cold One?" Edward asked for clarification. I nodded.

"A cold one, that's what my tribe calls it. You white folk call it vampires. Blood Drinkers. List of names for them goes on."

"And you immediately thought of me?" He was calm. Too calm?

"Well, not really. I thought you and your family were models or something who refused to eat. That or you were just these people with no social graces whatsoever. I heard your name was Cullen and I just thought that was a common last name. Then I talked to Jacob - my cousin - when I went to First Beach yesterday and he retold me of the treaty and how some of the kids on the Rez refuse to go to Forks Hospital because Dr. Cullen's there. Which is total bullshit by the way."

"What did you do then?" Edward lightly laughed at my rant.

"Well, I did some research. Most of it was silly and little far fetched so I stopped." I shrugged. "Then I decided, your business is your business and I shouldn't be sticking my nose in something that's not mine. Ultimate conclusion, I decided it didn't matter."

"Didn't matter?" Edward's voice tightens. "You don't care that I'm a monster?! That I'm not human?!"

"No!" I yell back. "It doesn't! Not only did you saved my goddamn life but besides Angela and Ben, you're one of the few people on this planet that I can truly call my friend! Would a monster do that?! I don't think so!" I argue. I take a deep breath and I can hear both of our heavy breathing as we refuse to speak any more in anger.

"I shouldn't have yelled," I speak softly after a few minutes went by. "I'm sorry. But I'm not sorry for not caring about what you are. You're a good person Edward, and if you did anything before I met you that might make me feel differently, it won't matter. I only know the person you are now, and if you want to wallow then go for it. But I'll be there every step of the way trying to help you." Seconds passed and I finally decided to look over at him. His face was tense and cold, unlike the warmth that was on it earlier. "You're angry, aren't you?"

"No," he answered. But his voice made me think otherwise. "I would much rather know what you're thinking, your total rationality behind your reason and not just because 'he's nice'."

"So I'm not wrong?"

"That's not what I'm getting at, it's the 'it doesn't matter' bit that's making me mad," he quoted.

"Alright, but I gave my reasoning, albeit, it may seem stupid to you, but it makes perfect sense to me."

"What does the treaty say about us?" Edward asks after a moment of silence.

"Well, we say you don't hunt people, but Cold Ones can never be trusted so we made a treaty so you won't come onto our land without expressed permission. That you don't hunt humans but animals instead. Is any of that right?"

Another moment of silence. "The Quileutes have a long memory," he whispered. I took it as confirmation of my words.

"Alright, cool to know _one_ of the legends are true."

"Where does this leave us?"

I answered. "Wherever you want it too. If you don't want to be my friend anymore, then I understand." He didn't speak again, the trees going past us in a blur. I feared he didn't even want to be my friend and for some reason, it hurt a bit in my chest.

"I'm not good at flirting, am I?" I looked over at him, trying to read his face. It looked tired, but I knew Cold Ones don't need to sleep... often, I think.

"What... do you mean, flirting?"

"I like you. A lot, Gwen. Now looking back before this, it's easy to see why you wouldn't think that. I was, as you called it, an asshole." I gaped at him for a second.

"You," I pointed at him. "Like me?" I pointed at myself now.

"Very much so." His face was still tired but his smile was starting up, just a faint one. My eyes were wide and I just watched the rushing road. He... liked me?! "I wish you didn't have to be so surprised. I'll make sure not to do that next time."

"Hey, Edward?" I question, my speech light. I get a noise of acknowledgment. "Was this a date?" I speak, almost too quickly for me to understand.

He laughs at this and I'm glad he finds my crisis amusing. "It... can be, if you wish it. But I'd much rather take you out on a better one if you agree to go again. Maybe with less yelling."

He wants to go out on a date? Like, an actual one?! Where both of us know it is a date?! "I'll gladly go out with you again," my voice stays calm and hides my excitement. I've never been so proud to be able to hide my emotions. "Your eyes," I began again, Edward's lips staying in the same spot it was once I gave my answer. "They're brighter... after you've eaten? And black when you haven't?"

"Definitely observant," he muses turning onto a different road, slowing down considerably. More for my benefit than his own.

"I've lived with men my entire life, they're always crabby when hungry, so it made sense." He just laughs at this and leans his elbow onto the console between us, only one hand on the wheel now. His palm is up and I slowly slip my fingers through his. And it felt as if we'd done this a hundred times. "I've always known about the supernatural world, just never believed it," I whisper, knowing he could hear me. "But now that I've met you... I don't think I could leave."

His fingers tightened around mine. "Don't say that. You can always leave, you can go home and pretend I never existed."

"No." My head leans onto his shoulder. "No, I don't think I could. You've become apart of my life, Edward. If you want to leave it then that's your prerogative. But, till that day, I don't want us to stop... whatever this is."

"I don't think my willpower is high enough to do that," he confesses in a whisper. I didn't reply, instead just content with the soft hum of his car taking us back home.

We're halfway home when Edward speaks again. "I have a question for you," he says now. I raise my head, blinking the sleep from my eyes. "You said Jacob Black is your cousin, does that mean the Chief, Billy, is your uncle?"

I nod. "Lori's his sister, she was the chief after my grandfather died. It only lasted for half a year before she hightailed it out of La Push to give birth to me."

"But her name is Lori Black," he tells me, looking down.

"No," I answer. "It's Lori Abendorth, she's married." I don't have to look at the speedometer to know Edward's slowing down, Fork's welcome sign an easy clue as to where we were. "But, if my name was Black, I think it'd be pretty neat."

"Neat?"

"Gwendolyn Marie Black-Swan. I like it," I shrug. "But my case is a special one, the state didn't know what to really do with me since Dad didn't sign the legal contract to be my guardian. But William - Lori's husband - had a sister that was supposed to be my caretaker. I think there was this huge legal battle, Dad never told me the specifics." I look up at him, raising an eyebrow. "If I asked him, could you read his mind for me? Get me answers?"

Edward gives a loud laugh, and shakes his head no. "I have rules about my ability," he tells me. "Besides," he starts, turning onto my street. "Your father is similar to you. He's hard to read, but if I focus enough I can, so I'd have to be in the room with you and him if you ask."

"Darn," I sigh, getting ready to unbuckle. "Well, it was worth a shot."

We parked on the curb, and I gave a smile to Edward. "I'll see you tomorrow," he tells me and I nod, feeling red creep up my cheeks.

"Alright, see you tomorrow," I exit the car, giving a wave before closing it. Like the last time he dropped me off, he doesn't leave till I'm inside, safe and sound. Does he really think me such a magnet for… was it danger or accidents?

"GWEN!?" A loud voice came from the kitchen. I was kicking my shoes off and went to take of my jacket - except it wasn't mine. I was still wearing Edwards. I gave a groan, but placed it on the back of the couch.

"I'm back, Dad!" I reply, entering the kitchen with a smile. "What's … up?"

His face was steaming red, and he was _angry._ "'What's up?'" His hands go to his waistband, favoring a single leg. He looked more like a cop than I had ever seen before. "What's up is that I was just about to have a search party out for you! Where did you go that you couldn't call?!"

I blanched back a bit. "I told you where I was go-"

"No, Gwen," Dad tells me. "I was half-asleep, you know better." His hand goes to his nose, rubbing it. "No, you know what? I have to do it." His hand falls back to his hips. "You're grounded, Gwen. Indefinitely."

"Indefinitely?" I asked, flabbergasted at the mere thought of it being for as long as he deemed it.

"Yep. No going out, after school you come right home, and I'm still thinking on that trip to Seattle."

"But Dad-"

"No, buts." His finger was raised now. "You know better, Gwen. I raised you better than that." This was one of the first times I had ever been _truly_ grounded. And I didn't know how to feel about it.

"Fine," I huffed, interlocking my fingers at the front of my body. "I already had dinner, I'm going to head to bed," I say without an ounce of attitude. There was no need for me to add fuel to the flame. I quickly grabbed Edward's jacket and quickly stepped up the stairs, turning into my room.

I put the jacket on a hanger in the closet, just putting on some pajamas and getting into bed, turning off the light. I'm tired, and I don't feel up to yelling at my father. Better to just go to bed and forget the whole night happened for the time being.


	11. Rumor Mills

It was close to impossible in the morning, to argue with the part of me that was sure last night was a dream. Logic wasn't on my side nor was common sense it seems; my mind racing with the events my mind may had created. Though I doubted the authenticity of the memories - I clung to the parts I couldn't have imagined - like the enrapturing smell of his car or the feeling of his hand within mine. I was certain I could never have dreamed that up on my own. Or maybe I did, and I was crazy. Maybe side effects of my medication?

It was foggy and dark outside my window, and absolutely perfect for a Cold One - if tonight was real. He had no reason not to be in school today - like he had for half of the previous month. I dressed in heavier clothes, for some reason my room was freezing leaving most of my clothes cold instead of the room temperature I was used to in the morning. As I walked around, legs felt fantastic today as if I could run a mile while I put on my pants. Obviously, I wouldn't, but it still felt as if I could. I still took my medication despite the fact, it was probably the reason as to why they were and I wouldn't stop just now because it felt like I didn't need it anymore.

I went back into my room and brushed my fingers along my sweatshirts and jackets when I felt an odd texture. Like leather, so when I investigated I became more aware of the fact that last night hadn't been a dream. His jacket was right there and I don't remember how else it would have came to be. So I took it off its hanger, pulling my hair out from the collar to let it sit on top.

Once I was downstairs, I felt the churning of anxiousness rest in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to say sorry to Dad, even though I tried not to have an attitude, I still did by just leaving the room and not talking it out like a normal person. It was stupid of me, and I wanted - needed - to apologize.

But he wasn't there. When I looked at the calendar we had for scheduling, it told me he had to go into work at four this morning despite taking Officer Schmidt's yesterday. Meaning, he wouldn't be here for breakfast. He wasn't supposed to be home till two so I wrote a note, telling him I was sorry for last night and to figure out what he wanted for dinner, he can have whatever he wanted so long as it wasn't _too_ greasy - I put a smiley face at the end to show my humor and hoped it would be perceived correctly.

I slipped my shoes on, picked up my book bag and grabbed my keys out of the designated bowl. It was unusually foggy when I got outside; the air was almost smoky with it as if there was a clean fire happening on my front lawn. The mist was ice cold where it clung to the exposed skin on my face and neck. I tightened the jacket around my waist - feeling my chest tighten up and shudder. I couldn't wait to get the heat going in Jenny, blasting it. I was lucky that was Jake's main goal as for It was such a thick fog that I was a few feet down the driveway before I realized there was a certain someone's car in it: a silver car. I looked at the car as if it had done me wrong. What the hell was he doing here?

I didn't see where he came from, but suddenly he was there, pulling the door open for me. "Thought it would be nice to go together."

I smile in disbelief and move my bookbag further up my shoulder. "That sounds great, thanks." I sit down in his passenger seat and the door's shut once all limbs are inside. I put my bookbag on the car floor to get my seatbelt on. He was on the driver's side before I could even grab the seatbelt from the side.

"You know," Edward began. "Your theory yesterday was right."

"Oh?"

"Yes." The Volvo backed out of my driveway, leaving for the school at a legal pace - a totally different speed than what I had grown semi-accustomed to the previous night. "You said, if it's not wrong, I can ask you any questions I want."

"With a few limitations," I add.

"I will be taking that offer today." There's a pause and no words are spoken.

"Not going to start now?" I ask.

"No, I think I'll wait a bit." I playfully rolled my eyes.

"Where's the rest of your family?" They're not in the car as they typically are, I notice.

"They all took Rosalie's car. They're meeting us at school." I nod and we sit in a comfortable silence to the school, soon enough we're parking next to a bright red BMW, the Cullens scattered around it. "Well, they're all excited to meet you," he tells me, his eyes wandering across his siblings. His lip quirked up as we went to park right next to them. "Some more than others."

Once I'm out of the car, I put my book bag tighter on my shoulders, walking towards Edward. But before I could, I'm nearly toppled over by a small force. "Gwen!" the person gasps, giggling like a child who just received their favorite candy. "It's so great for you to finally know, oh my gosh!"

"Alice, you need to let go of her," Edward said over the laughter, practically peeling the pixie off of me.

"It's alright," I smile, hugging the girl back. She soon removes one arm from me and wraps the other around my waist.

"You've met me, but you haven't met the rest. This here, is Jasper!" she gestures to the male blond of the group I've come to know as Jasper Hale.

"Hello, Gwen," he stoically greeted, though a twang was noticeable deep in there. Sounding similar to my Aunt Caroline, she was from El Paso and married my Uncle on my - Lori's. Lori's side.

"I'm Rosalie," the other Blonde of the group greeted, stepping forward to show her presence. Though how it was hard to miss Rosalie, only a blind man would know. "It's nice to finally have you meet the rest of the family." I smiled back, though hers seemed more forced. "We should be getting to class," she tugged the tiniest bit on the man who I had hit with a snowball only a few days ago. It felt longer. "We'll see you later."

"Byeee, Gwen!" the only unintroduced Cullen said, after being yanked away by his girlfriend.

"Bye, Emmett." I wave with the free arm that isn't around Alice's waist. I receive one back from the couple before they strut away as if they were models. Well, Rosalie could be Aphrodite for all I truly know, but I'll hold off on that judgment.

"We should follow suit," Jasper inputs and Alice actually pouts at this but goes with nonetheless, reluctantly pulling away from me and striding to her boyfriend.

"We'll see you later, Gwen!" Alice waves over her shoulder, taking Jasper's arm and practically skipping with joy. It was a... fanatical morning to say the least, meeting your… romantic interest? Yeah, your romantic interest's siblings - adopted or not - was a hectic way to start the day.

"Well, we're about to be ambushed," Edward mumbles, stepping closer to me, hooking his hand into mine. I look up at him in confusion before he directs his gaze to behind me, and then I hear it.

"Gwen!" Jessica squealed, once I turned around I was engulfed in an awkward hug, nothing like the cold one I had just received from Alice a few moments earlier. My hand had to slip from Edward's at this to try and keep the other from falling. "Here, I brought you your sunglasses." She fished in her bag and brought out a pair. "I found them in the car from Saturday."

"Oh, thanks." I quickly take them from her and perch them on top of my head. "What's up?"

Lauren strides up and is looking at Edward as she talks to me. "We should get going to Brit Lit, Gwen. Don't want you to fall short, huh?"

Edward says something eons before I could. "Actually, I was going to walk Gwen to class. I have to talk to her a bit first, privately if you don't mind." He made 'Leave us alone and go fuck yourself' sound polite.

"Oh, o-of course!" Lauren grabbed Jessica's arm and stuttered away, but not before she could throw a veiled dirty look over her shoulder. "I'll see you in class, Gwen!" She called over before finally turning her eyes away from us.

"What are you going to tell her?" Edward asks, leaning on his car. He quickly plucks my sunglasses from my head and switches them over to his own face, the frames a bit too small.

"About what?" I grin. He's much more relaxed than he once was. It was nice.

"Lauren's going to badger you about a few things. One is are we secretly dating, and the other is what you feel for me." I could see the hint of his eyes narrowing behind the shades in his typical amusement of human life and how we certainly have nothing better to do than talk about other people. I could only roll my eyes. I started walking to my designated building, Edward was next to me as quickly as you can expect from a Cold One.

"What do you _want_ me to say?" I retort. "This is a democratic country, after all. Your word is as important as mine."

"Well, the secret dating thing is a yes." Edward raises a high eyebrow from under the sunglasses and I nod in confirmation feeling the heat rise to my cheeks. He begins to rub his chin in thought after that, thinking on what to say next. "And what you feel for me... well, I'll be listening _very_ intently to that one." He gives me his infamous uneven smile and once we get to my building his lips peck quickly to my forehead. "I'll see you soon, Birdie. Spanish is only next hour." I wave at his retreating back and enter the English Building, hanging up my jacket. My heart may have stuttered a bit with my nickname, but if you asked me about it I would full-heartedly deny it. When I went to feel the top of my head to rub at the kiss that was placed there, I realized Edward still had my sunglasses... doofus.

Once I turned from the coat rack did I see three students ogling at me, more than likely at the interaction that just went down. It was the first day of school all over again. With a sigh and the roll of my eyes, I went to Bruer's room and said my quick hello before getting in my seat. Like Edward told me, Lauren was already there waiting to attack. She had immediately scooted her desk over, not wasting a second.

"Alright, details. Let's go."

I take a big breath and turn to her. How they can treat me like dog feces on the bottom of their shoe to being their best friend always sent me into a tizzy. Is this how all high school girls were? Well, Angela isn't so I'll have to count her out... "Edward and I _are_ seeing each other, but we're keeping it private." I go to my bag despite the whining Lauren's doing.

"Oh come on! I said _details._ How do you feel about him? " I bring out my book and get ready for the class period. This was exasperating.

"He drives like a maniac," I reply, hoping he can hear Lauren's thoughts from his classroom. "But he's sweet, caring, and overall a gentleman."

"Have you two gone on any dates?" I took a deep breath.

"Yes, we went out for dinner yesterday. It was fun, we got to know one another." I was done with this conversation to be over. And I was _ready_ for it to be over.

"Tell me, how good is he in bed?" I stopped flipping through my pages and became rigid.

"What?"

"How good is he in bed?" I didn't even think of him like that. Not for a second. Did he think of me in that sense? I mean, maybe. It's a possibility. But I wasn't going to admit that aloud. "We're not like that," is what I reply with before class starts. But despite Ms. Bruer's lecture, Lauren still persists.

"What do you mean, 'you're not like that'? You should be climbing him like a jungle gym." I felt my face flush, from my shoulders to my ears were warm and undoubtedly red. The image appeared in my head and I almost laughed at the absurdity of it. Me at five-foot trying to reach Edward's head at his undoubtebly tall stature. I never gave much thought about it, in all honesty. Edward was taller than Angela so he had to have been well over six foot as he had almost half a head on her… I was brought from my thoughts at a poorly timed whisper. "Have you even kissed Cullen before?"

I shake my head. "No, we'll do it when we're ready. Now can we please stop talking, I'd like to get an A on this test." The rest of class went by quickly once we got the paper test on the play of Macbeth. I was lucky to know the answers despite my wandering mind. It traveled to multiple scenarios, like when Dad said guys want one thing… Did Edward want that too? I don't even know how to feel about that in all honesty, it's a way of life and it wasn't like I was completely innocent when it came to those thoughts. I doubt Edward - a man stuck in a teenager's body - would feel much different. Unless… it was different for vampires? I decided to not think about it.

Once class was over, Lauren left, obviously in a bit of a fit. I inhaled deeply before releasing it and moved to building six for Spanish III, my jacket just laying over my shoulders now. I was only halfway there when an arm went around my waist. I could already tell who it was by the coldness but also the shape and gentleness that the owner bestowed upon me. "Hello," I greet, moving my arm to go around his waist.

"Hello," he replies. "I'm sweet?" I just roll my eyes and look away from him, a shit-eating grin on his face, of that I had no doubt.

"And caring," I add, turning to him. "And a gentleman. But the most important one," I get closer to his face, our noses nearly touching one another. "Is you drive like a maniac." He laughs at this and it ganders more attention than we already had. I move my head away from his and go to open the door.

"Yeah, I heard that one," he teases, opening the door before my hand could even reach the handle. We're finally inside and warm again and I shrug my jacket off again, just putting it over my arm in favor of using the coat rack again.

After Spanish, Edward and I went our separate ways. I myself, had Gym and was kind of dreading it. The second I get in there, Angela is on me like a shark is to blood... Or a vampire to blood. Get it?

"When were you going to tell me?" Angela asks with a genuine smile. I shrug and shyly look away.

"It was kind of sudden, we went out yesterday and one thing led to another..."

"You two did _not!"_ she gasped. I scoffed at her reaction and picked up a rolling volleyball to throw back over on the other side of the gym.

"No, I did _not._ We just talked, and what I mean by one thing led to another, is that we realized after talking, that we both like each other... a lot. So we both agreed on a second date."

"So... how much do you like him?" We continued to walk to the perimeter of the gym, another physical therapy thing for the day, despite how nice I felt, Coach Clapp wanted to get a doctor's note saying I was fully able to participate.

"I like him... a lot," Honestly answer. This was Angela, not Lauren or Jessica so I was completely safe in knowing that she wouldn't say a word to anyone else. "I think I may care for him, more than he does me, honestly. It's weird, you know?"

"I can kind of relate," Angela replies, trying to empathize. "I sometimes feel that way with Ben. But hey, now you'll have Lauren off your back."

"What?" I ask, confused at the sudden turn in the conversation. "What do you mean?"

"You don't know?" I shook my head. "Tyler's been saying the two of you are going to prom together, he's even gotten a nice tux."

"And Lauren likes Tyler," I groan. "This makes more sense than her just hating me for no reason."

"I'll spread the word he lied," Angela tried to cheer me up, putting an arm over my shoulders.

Once gym was over, it was well known news that Edward Cullen and Gwen Abendorth-Swan were 'dating' (Lauren had already told half of the school at this point(mind you, with a school this small it wasn't that big of a feat)) though quite a few ladies and men weren't too happy about it(I think most of the latter were unhappy as a result of Edward being taken, not necessarily me).

Once Calculus was over with, the bell signified it was time for lunch, making all those in the room happy to leave the horribleness that is Calculus. I gingerly packed my things away and headed for the door a man -who made it look so easy- stood on the right side of the door, looking like the statue of a Greek god.

"Hello," he greeted with a smile, taking my hand. I hadn't realized how small mine were compared to his long and lanky ones, they were almost swallowed whole.

"Hey," I reciprocated, tangling my fingers with his. "How was Trig?"

"Mmm, it's like I've done it a thousand times," he smirks, practically sauntering to the Canteen doors. It was nice to be on the inside of the small jokes.

Edward opened the door to the canteen and _everyone_ turned at our entrance. Today definitely felt like the first day of school _all. Over. Again._ They weren't even trying to be discreet about it either. Does the Cullen family have to deal with this every day? I had the luck to blend into the crowd more. But for them to go through this on a regular basis seems... aggravating.

Once in line, I grabbed a tray only for it to be stacked with food by Edward. "I hope you're not expecting me to eat _all_ off this," I chime, my response is tinted with a bit of laughter at the almost absurd amount of food being piled up.

"Half is for me of course," Edward tells me with a playful smirk. I raise an eyebrow which seems to go unnoticed. With a hold of my hand, we're whisking off to the same table we sat at last week on Thursday, a table of nearby seniors watches us in rapture. This seems to go unnoticed by Edward here - or maybe he just doesn't care. I sit across from the man and we let go of each other's hands for a second to situate ourselves. "Take whatever," he tells me. I pick up an apple quickly and roll it around in my hand.

"Hmm, I'm curious... what would happen if I dare you to eat something?" I ask, lightly tossing the apple to him. He catches it with a practiced ease and grimaces.

"Always curious, huh?" He takes the red apple into his hand, inspecting the fruit as if it had done him wrong before placing a mouthful of it and chewing it at a leisurely pace. His face showed no distaste but if you saw his eyes it had to have been the most revolting thing he's probably ever eaten. He quickly swallowed and I couldn't contain my smile anymore as it appeared in full force. "If someone asked you to eat dirt, you could, couldn't you?" he asked condescendingly, handing the apple back to me.

My eyes glazed over as I thought back to the days in the hospital. "I may have at one point for thirty bucks. Wasn't allowed in the garden for a week after that," I joke.

He laughed. "Why am I not surprised?" His eyes drifted over my shoulder and focused on something. "Angela is watching my every move, she's trying to make sure that I'm good for you. You'll get a whole breakdown after school via text message." He pushed the rest of 'his' pizza (I only called it that because it was on his side of the tray) towards me. "Humans need to eat regularly, right?" I smirk, taking the pizza and taking a large bite. The mention of Angela seemed to bring back a small ounce od Edward's regular irritation. "Something you said to Angela... it bothers me, quite a bit." He refuses to be distracted now. His voice had a husky sound to it and he looked from under his long lashes that would put any girl to shame.

"I'm not surprised," I reply. "You know what they say about eavesdroppers, right?"

"Angela's thinking about the conversation she had with you in the gym," he rebukes. "That you think, you care about me more than I do you?"

I look at him, a little annoyed, my hand goes to the side of my face, holding it up with a single finger and a raised eyebrow. Edward leans forward, leaning on both of his elbows on the table. For a second, I forgot that there were many eyes on us, that we weren't just by ourselves.

"Do you truly believe that you care more about me than I do you?" He reiterates, murmuring. His face becomes closer to mine and my head tilts a bit more automatically. His dark gold eyes were piercing, looking at me with so much emotion.

"Sometimes, yes. Sometimes no," I answer. I kept my eyes now looking at the table, unable to handle the emotion that was invading me from the man. My fingers began to trace the laminated pattern that was put on the table. The silence between us was deafening but comfortable. We didn't need to talk all the time.

Finally, he spoke. "You're wrong," the velvet voice was soft as if comforting despite it telling me I'm incorrect.

"About which part of my answer?"

"In thinking you care more about me than I do you..." I huffed, finally forcing my eyes back to his.

"Yeah, Edward, don't think you know this... but I've cared for you for awhile. And a lot. _"_ He just smiles and looks away. "I'm dead serious."

"My emotions rival yours," he argues, his smile almost convincing. "Mine are worth ten of yours, my family and I feel much stronger than others here."

"You can't know that for certain."

"But on the contrary, I can," he smugly replies, leaning farther back in his chair, moving his face away from me.

I kick his leg and only received a stubbed toe as if I had hit it on a stationary piece of furniture. "Yeah, whatever. I'll tell you this, I like you a lot, I care for you a lot. I'm not going to argue about it any more than that."

"I got a question for you..."

"Ooo! Finally." I smirk and take a sip of my apple juice. "Shoot."

"Do you actually want to go to Seattle? Or would you rather go to the dance, just… not with them." His chin jutted over to the table I had been sitting at since my arrival to Forks and I gave a small smile.

"I don't dance," I admit. "So, I would've said no to them regardless. But even if that wasn't an issue I don't think I would accept, they're all…" I looked at the ceiling, trying to remember the word for it. "Childish? Well, when it comes to thing to the heart."I took a bite of the pizza before setting it down quickly in my rush to tell him my next words. "And I don't forgive you for that Tyler thing!" I spluttered. "It's your fault he's telling everyone I'm going to prom with him."

"Oh, he would have found a way to ask you without my interference - I just wanted to see your face," he chuckled. I took a slice of pepperoni from the pizza and threw it at him causing his laughter to inflate. "If I'd have asked you, would you have turned me down?"

I leaned back and thought quickly. "Probably not," I replied. "But in the end, I would have faked being sick or something."

He looked puzzled, tilting his head just a bit. "Why would you do that?"

My shoulders shook, unable to contain my unadulterated laughter. "One wrong move doing a line dance and I'm forced to bed rest for three weeks." My laughter snorted just the tiniest bit. "Not to mention I suck at dancing. Probably the top reason as to bailing."

"Is it that bad?" he mused.

"Worse," I correct. "The few times I have danced was... a travesty, to say the least."

His lip quirks upward on one side. "Are you referring to the fact you can't seem to walk without tripping on a completely flat surface?"

I picked up my apple juice and started unscrewing the cap. "I'll have you know, this time last year I was lucky to stand on my feet for ten minutes without my legs giving out." I gave a teasing smile. "But yes, that is what I am referring to, Mr. Cullen."

"That wouldn't be a problem, Ms. Abendorth-Swan." He was obviously confident, cocky if I didn't know better. "It's all about the leading." I just smiled. Of course, he had a solution to the problem. "But you never told me - are you resolved to going to Seattle or would you mind if we did something else?"

I looked at him skeptically. "Did you know I was going to Seattle this weekend before you even made plans?"

He chuckled. "Your father thinks loudly," he tells me. "It's hazy, like a fog on an April morning, but if I focus hard enough I can hear him. While you were collecting your… food, he was at home, thinking on the outcomes and hopes he had for your trip."

I looked at him a bit skeptically. "What were you doing at my house?"

He began to look sheepish now, realizing I caught him in his own words. "I went there to ask if you wanted to do something this weekend. If only to get rid of the tension between the both of us, I couldn't handle it anymore." He shrugged.

I sat back in my chair, thinking. "Alright," I trailed off. I looked up, seeing him look a bit ashamed. "Hey, what's wrong?" I ask, my hand reaching for his. "Are you okay?"

"I just… don't want you to see me badly."

My heart broke a bit. While Edward had first seemed nonchalant and almost heartless, he wore his heart on his sleeve and it broke my own heart. How long had he have to deal with loneliness?

"I don't," I tell him in a small voice. I decide to deeter the conversation back on track. "If you don't want to go to Seattle this weekend," I begin. "What do you want to do?"

His face began to put on a small but sheepish smile still, as if having conflicting thoughts on how he should feel. "I wanted to take you somewhere. Somewhere that's special to me."

I nodded, thinking on it as I took the pizza to my mouth. "Alright," I answer. "We can do that. But I have one condition."

"And what's that?"

"I get to drive," I reply.

He playfully groaned, rolling his eyes. "Why?"

"Well, considering I don't feel like having to _die_ by car crash going over a hundred, that's one reason as to why. Your driving, for a lack of better words, is frightening"

He laughs at this, his teeth showing with his smile. "Of all things that could frighten you, you're worried about my driving." He crosses his arms over his chest, thinking about my demands. "And you're telling Chief Swan?"

I nod. "I already told him you were coming with me this weekend, which he would have like by the way, but if whatever we're doing is any closer he'll be even happier. So what do you have planned?"

"The weather will be nice, so I'll have to stay out of the public eye... and you can stay with me if you'd like too." I nodded. He was never pressuring me, nor using his 'dazzling' powers on me either. It was always my choice. I don't get that too often, I guess.

"So you don't burn and melt in the sun?" I tease.

He chuckled. "No, a myth. I'll show you what I mean." He smiles before it starts falling, just a bit. "But if you don't want to be... alone with me, I'd still rather you not go to Seattle by yourself. I can feel myself shudder just thinking about how much trouble you could find in a city that size." I scoffed.

"I lived in Seattle for four years, Edward. I was just going to go to a bookstore and see my old nurse." He shook his head.

"If I didn't know you any better than I do, I'd think it would be just an innocent trip. But from all other occurrences, you are - like I said - a magnet for trouble. I'd feel better knowing you're by my side."

"Gah, fine." I take a bite of my pizza. "I'm still adamant about driving though."

"Alright," he nods. "So... my turn for more questions."

"Better ones, I hope?"

"First one." he rubbed his hands together as if warming himself up. "What's your happiest memory?"

I had to think about it for a second. "It's a toss up, honestly," I answer. His head cocks to the side, much like a puppy's would when they don't get a treat. "Well, yesterday was probably one of my most happiest memories. I got to laugh and joke with you, and that's something I don't get often."

"What's the other one?" He question and my eyes glazed over, remembering a time that had passed so long ago.

"It was June 18, 1995, in Miami, Florida," I theatrically stated, putting my hands up as if showcasing the shining lights that emphasized my words. "There were these new neighbors, nosy little ones from what I remember. Always looking into the backyard, once even going as far as to trespassing. I didn't understand why except for the fact that they were 'assholes'," I airquoted. "Lori's words. Not mine. Turns out, they themselves were police officers doing a case for CPS. This six year old kid wasn't going to school and her legs were always bound? A little weird," I chuckled. I still didn't meet his gaze till this moment. "Well, they got enough evidence for a warrant. Took them four months to proccur it, and in that four months I was taken out of school and became extremely malnourished, unallowed to move anywhere but within the basement, like I could move anywhere. I… I did what I had to survive," I began picking at my fingers. "Maybe I'll tell you about it one day, now, I just… it's hard to speak of it to anyone who isn't family."

"That's alright," Edward spoke up, not sounding mad or deceived in anyway. "Can you please… continue?"

I nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I uh… I was malnourished, my legs had begun to become infected in the bone marrow after it was left to the air. Uh, I was saved that day, June 18. William slipped up, he forgot to close the doors, for the first time. My voice carried and the police barrged in. I was put in the ambulance and taken to Miami Regional Hospital. There I was put in a medically induced coma and yeah… That was the day I was taken from my own personal hell."

Edward's face contorted into many things as I spoke. Some expressions were confusion, others was a small slip of fury, and others I couldn't pinpoint. "And while that maybe a happy memory," I tell him, garnering his attnetion. "I don't think it was as happy as I was yesterday."

"I'm glad I could give you some form of happiness." He smiles softly, before furrowing his eyebrows. "Who's William?"

"William? He was Lori's husband. He was a manipulator, it's what he thrived on." I finished the rest of the pizza, wiping my hands on a stray napkin. "So, what about you? What's your happiest memory?"

"Yesterday," he said without a second to think. "And I thought I was the one asking questions."

I put my hands up in surrender and give a sigh of defeat. "Alright, alright."

"What do you want to do as a career?"

I thought about this for a solid minute, chewing on the inside of my cheek. "I don't necessarily know. I want to say an Environmental Engineer but I also want to say a CPS Worker. I still have a few more years to think about it, but I'll let you know when I decide."

"What about favorite food?"

"Anything Italian, I like pasta," I admit. "I like pasta, a lot."

"I'm glad I chose well last night then," He smirked and moved in his seat as if trying to get comfortable. "I'll also have to remember that for later." He looked side to side, and I followed his lead and saw the canteen was nearly empty besides a few stragglers. "Come on, we should get going before we're late."

He took our tray away but not before I could grab a few snacks off of it, and stuff them into my book bag. Edward was by my side again, taking my hand and leading me to biology, more questions on the tip of his tongue that begged to be answered.


	12. Complicate

Everyone watched us as we walked together to our lab table as if we were puppies behind glass. I noticed that he no longer angled the chair away from me, but came closer to myself, edging the chair closer and closer. It wasn't long till he moved so near that our legs were brushing one another. I put my bag on the table top and laid my head on it, waiting for class to start. I felt a disturbance on my scalp, a slight pulling of my hair. I looked up from the wall that was created by the dark strands, seeing Edward twist and turn it with his fingers, playing with hair as if it was a toy.

When Mr. Banner backed into the room the second I lifted my head - what superb timing the man had - pulling a tall metal frame on wheels that held a heavy-looking, outdated TV and VCR. A movie day - the lift in the class atmosphere was almost tangible on my skin. "Since you've all did pretty well on your test on Friday, I've decided to let you all watch a movie, you may be familiar with it." Mr. Banner shoved the tape into the reluctant VCR and walked to the wall to turn off the lights.

And then, as the room went black, I was suddenly hyper-aware that Edward was sitting less than an inch from me. I was stunned by the unexpected electricity that flowed through me. I picked my head all the way up so I could see the screen. I eventually turned my body a bit, Edward still played with my hair but helped me lean on his chest, his nose in my hair.

The opening credits began, lighting the room a decent amount, enough to see the outlines of most bodies but other than that your line of sight was only in front of you. Edward and I sat almost all the way in the back, with no biology partners sitting behind us.

I felt a cold hand press its way onto my arm, moving from my shoulder to my hands, before entangling them. It was like electricity - a voltage shock running up my arm. It was _weird._ I'd never felt something like that before, with anyone. I leaned farther into the cold body, closing my eyes and trying to get myself as attached to his torso as possible. The cold grounded me, reminded me that this wasn't just anyone with me, but Edward.

The hour seemed very long. I couldn't concentrate on the movie - I didn't even know what subject it was on, all I knew was that it had Chris Brown in it. I tried unsuccessfully to relax, but the electric current that seemed to be originating from somewhere in his body never slackened. His grip around me tightened and his face eventually went to the nape of my neck, burying himself in the thick of my hair.

It felt almost too soon when Mr. Banner flicked the lights back on. I didn't want to leave his embrace, honestly. Edward's arms tightened around me one more time before letting go and standing, helping me up too. I grabbed my book bag and put it around my shoulder, my other hand was still occupied by the Cold One.

"Well, this was nice." His hand squeezed just a bit in emphasis and we began heading for the door. "Last class," he encouraged as if it would make anything better. I groaned but nodded reluctantly. Walking to my last class of the day, we got to the door and I turned to Edward, going to say my goodbye.

It was lodged in my throat when I saw him, he looked almost sad... pained. I gave a sad smile in return, and went to my tiptoes, kissing his cheek in reassurance. "I'll see you after school." He nods and places a kiss on my forehead.

"I'll see you after school," he repeats. I show him a genuine smile now and give his hand a small squeeze before letting go. I turn to my door and head to my desk, trying to ignore the stares and wandering eyes of my peers. Once I'm sat in my seat, Austin comes up to me from the blue.

"Sup, Gwen?" he asks, sitting atop of a desk in front of me.

I chuckle. "Nothing much, what about you?"

" _'Nothing much'?_ " he incredulously asks. "You're dating Cullen."

I take a deep inhale and then exhale. "It's no one's business but yes, I am." I mentally curse Lauren, who I should have known wouldn't keep her big mouth shut. I wish I never had answered her. But at the same time, I do. I like people knowing I care of Edward.

"I don't like it," he says, as if he gets a say in who I'm with. I feel anger bubble in the back of my throat. What right does he have to make an opinion on a relationship he hadn't even been apart of?

"Good thing you don't have to," I snark back. This causes him to blanch a bit away, unused to me being an ounce rude. But, unfortunately for me, he reagained his courage again to keep talking.

"He looks at you as if you're something to eat," he mumbles. I mentally laugh at this, if only he know. But to him, I scoff, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, whatever Austin, get to your seat." I gesture to his desk _across_ the room and he glowers at me before going there.

APUSH was pretty easy, we just had to do a quick paragraph on how the Roaring Twenties forced or didn't force (based on your thought process) the economic decline.

"Psst," a voice whispered. I turned to see another student, girl with black hair and a single blue strip in it, both artificial. I believe her name was Kelly - a freshman - or something that started with a 'K'. "Can you grab my pencil for me?" She pointed at my feet and I craned my neck to see what she was getting at. Her pencil was near my feet on the carpeted floors and I nodded, reaching and squirming to get it without getting off of my seat. While I went to sit up I had hit my head on my desk... hard. I could feel the goose egg already forming. This caused stifled laughter throughout the room and I just handed the girl her pencil back, her face trying to contain the laughter that just about escaped her chest. "Thanks," she giggled. I only nodded and began to rub the back of my head, waiting for this class period to end.

I got out of the room pretty quickly, just so I wouldn't be stopped by Austin again, for it to be from our earlier conversation or me getting hurt via the desk. I briefly thought as I walked down the halls that maybe I was a magnet for accidents. I walked through the hall with my head down, my eyes wandering and not really paying any attention to my surroundings.

But just as I'm getting to the parking lot I realize... I didn't bring my truck. "How was, AP US History?" A hand slipped into mine. Its familiar cool touch brought me a sense of peace over the panic I had just a moment before. I had forgotten Edward had taken me home, would he be willing to take me home too?

"It was alright," I reply, giving a small smile. "How about you?"

"Alright." His face went from sunshine and rainbows to that of annoyance. "That Austin kid's getting on my nerves," he says, eyes tight and slightly mad.

I laugh at this, allowing him to pull me to wherever. "Listening, _again?"_

The vampire smiles innocently. "How's your head?" I bump my whole body against him and he allows to be shoved in jest, but his hand goes from mine to around my shoulders.

"You're an ass," I reply. Once we're getting near Edward's car I realize there's a large sum of students surrounding it. Upon closer inspection, it's clear they're surrounding the red BMW, drooling over the red paint and luxurious brand. I put a hand over my mouth from letting my laughter escape and just head for the Volvo's passenger seat. The other kids don't even turn their heads upon Edward opening his door and slamming it closed.

"You guys do try to keep a low profile, right?" I ask in a joking tone.

"We _try,_ " Edward jokes back putting the car in reverse and making sure not to hit any of the car enthusiasts. "Still think I'm an ass?"

"I'll think you're an ass till the day you die," I smirk. "But a cute one."

"A cute one?" he laughed. I only nodded, biting my lower lip to hide how happy I truly was. "So, Ms. Swan," I liked the Ms. Swan bit, not the whole Abendorth-Swan and he seemed to have picked up on it. "This Saturday."

"This Saturday," I agree. We're out of the parking lot, still receiving stares despite it not being about the car. I watch as the large green trees pass us by, this time at a reasonable speed. "We're staying near, Forks?"

"Yes, we are." He nods, a small smirk dancing on his lips. "Would you like me to meet Chief Swan?"

My stomach turned to knots. Edward meeting Dad? That's what... normal people do, right? We're normal... yeah, we're normal. I can only hope Dad doesn't pull the 'I'm a cop and I have a gun' cliche on him. Not like a gun would hurt Edward or anything. "If you want," I hesitantly replied. "Don't do it, if you don't want to, though."

"I want to, he's your dad and you respect and love him a great deal. Not to mention, anyone garnering your respect demands my own." We're soon parked in front of my house, the cruiser not back from its afternoon shift yet, which I found peculiar. "And I believe I owe him an apology for keeping you out yesterday."

I wince the tiniest bit. "You heard all of that… didn't you?"

He nods, a small smirk. "I did. Maybe I can give you a lighter sentence if I apologize."

I snort, shaking my head and start unbuckling. "No, Edward. You don't have to apologize, it was on me that I got grounded."

"Still doesn't mean it won't make a good impression." He shrugs off his seatbelt and I go do the same - picking up my book bag while I'm at it from the car floor. I get out of the car, stepping onto the curb and to the white house's paved walkway/

"Come on then, Cullen. Come to my humble abode." I take my keys from the side pocket of my bag and force them into the cold lock so I can enter the warm shelter. I rub my feet on the mat at the front of our door to get any rain off of it before kicking off my shoes. "Since Dad's not home yet, I'd guess he'll be back in an hour, maybe less." I set my bag on the couch, and watch Edward's reaction to my home. At first, it looks like he's looking at the taxidermied deer head Dad killed last hunting season but under closer inspection; he's staring at the pictures. One, in particular, caught his attention, his fingers tracing over the lines of the bodies.

"How old were you?" he asks in a quiet voice, taking it off of the nail the frame hung from and looking at it. He was sitting next to me in less than a second and when the legends say that they can move fast I didn't expect him to be that fast despite what I had seen with the van almost hitting me. I jumped at his speed, causing the Cold One to look a bit sheepish. "Sorry," he mutters.

"It's fine, I'm just going to get used to it." I wave him off before scooting closer to him on his side of the couch. "I think - when this photo was taken - I was just a little older than seven. About four months after I was taken from the house if memory serves me correctly."

"You don't look any older than four, and that's at the most." I chuckle, he had me there.

"Well yeah, I guess you're right. It's one of the reasons I'm so tiny. Not Alice tiny, mind you, but still small considering my parents are both over six foot. I wasn't given proper nutrients till I was six, which was past the imperative development stage. I think that was the day, I first had real food. Not pumped into a tube or something." I shrugged and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"You're so nonchalant about all of it," he whispers. "Yet, I can feel my skin boiling with hatred for people I had never met." I sigh deeply, I was hoping not to have to bridge this topic, but I wanted him to know, I like him... a lot. I felt like I belonged somewhere, maybe not loving him just yet. But I feel as if that will quickly change.

"I've had years, Edward. And a lot of therapy. I'll get night terrors once in a while but nothing too substantial. I know it's a lot, but I'm getting better every day. And you help contribute to it. So, thank you." I craned my neck upwards to place my lips lightly on his cheek, hoping I'm not crossing any lines that have been drawn.

An arm went behind my back, bringing me closer to him, one of my legs nearly atop of his own. Delicate but firm lips placed themselves on my forehead. "And I hope, one day, you'll never have to think about them again."

A thought pressed its way to the forefront of my mind. "What about you?" His face portrayed his confusion. "You know a lot of my past, but... I don't seem to know a single thing about yours."

"Mine was bleak, a day in, day out type of deal," he explains. "Move to a city, stay there for a bit, move somewhere else. Rinse and repeat."

"What about your life before you turned?" I asked, molding myself to his side. Despite the chills it sent up my spine, I was comfortable.

"Hmm, I don't remember much. I was born in 1901 as Edward Anthony Masen, to Edward and Elizabeth Masen," he tells me. "We lived in Chicago. It was 1918 and the Spanish Influenza had just reached us. My father passed quickly, in his sleep I was told. My mother wasn't so lucky. She suffocated in her own blood, coughing. But she managed to talk to the doctor before she passed. That he would save me, no matter what."

I nodded in understanding, swallowing my sadness. "The doctor was Carlisle, wasn't it?"

He nodded. "Yes." My hand rubbed his arm, trying to give a form of reassurance. "I think she knew, what he was. But he decided on granting her final wish. I was just about to die, a spare few minutes from it when Carlisle picked me up and ran to his apartment. I thought I was being carried to heaven." He chuckled. "But soon enough, I believed I had sinned, somehow. So badly that I had been forced to suffer in the deepest pits of Hell. Once he bit me, the venom went through my veins and it burned. It was an excruciating pain for three days, no rest for my human body. But when it stopped, I was scared. Not of what I was, but the voices I heard. It was horrifying, I couldn't do anything about it.

"I eventually left Carlisle a decade later, despite his want to help me." His eyes glaze over the tiniest bit, thinking of the best way to phrase the words that wa the story of his life. "While I was gone... I turned into a monster," he started to become wary, his arm slackening and slipping from me, as if he was preparing me to bolt… or maybe himself. "I killed people, people with ill intentions, but people all the same. It wasn't till 1939 did I stop and look for Carlisle again, hoping he could help me acclimate to his diet once more." He looked at me from the corner of his eyes, expecting me to say _something._

"You tried to do good," was all I could manage out at first. "You may have killed people, but from what you've said... you only did it to those who deserved it." When he opened his mouth to argue I raised a finger, getting as close to him as possible. "You _changed._ Edward. You changed for the better and have seemed to stick to it. I'm proud."

He wanted to argue. He wanted to argue so badly, it was almost funny. But his head snapped to the window, looking out. "Your dad's almost here." I turned to the window not seeing the cruiser even down the street. I waited for a few moments till I saw the white car with black decals. It turned into the driveway, parking next to my truck. His eyes stayed trained on the Volvo for the entirety of his walk to the door.

Then I realized... Edward and I were almost on top of each other. "Put the photo back," I whispered in a hiss, moving to my book bag and grabbing some of my Spanish homework out and a pencil. I tried to sit nonchalantly, looking as unappealing as possible so Dad didn't think we were doing anything... inappropriate, for the lack of a better word.

The door opened and it seemed almost as if Edward hadn't moved at all but the photo was back on the wall so he had to have moved I would gather. When I heard the door click open, I turned. "Gwen, do you know whose car is on the curb-" the words died off on his lips. His eyes were going to pop out of his head before he blinked, giving them their much-needed moisture. "Edward, right?"

"Yes, sir." Edward stood and put his hand out for the other to shake. "I'm Doctor Carlisle Cullen's son."

I decided to add to it. "He's also the one that practically saved me in the car crash, put me on the gurney and everything." This caused my father to harden, just a bit. He was beaming with a new-found respect for Edward, shaking his hand with eager. Edward made a show of wincing just a bit while holding his hand but they soon let go.

"Well, thank you, Edward. Gwendolyn is one of the few things that are right in the world, I don't know what I would've done if she had to leave me." Edward nodded and looked over at me.

"I know," he spoke softly. "About her being one of the few things right in the world. That's why when I heard she had been grounded for our outing yesterday, I had to come apologize. I was the one who kept her out late, we went on a date to the Italian Restaurant in Port Angeles - I uh. Wanted to make a good first impression. We talked and dined longer than planned. I also wanted to ask, if it would be alright with you if I take her out on a second date this Saturday. It's the dance this weekend, and Gwen doesn't seem so keen on going."

Dad looked taken aback. His eyes were wide in surprise at the formality and while I wasn't to keen on the dance, I wasn't to keen on Edward asking my dad for his permission to take me out. But it seemed to make a lasting impression on Dad for all intents and purposes.

"Thank you, son." Son? "I accept your apology, but Gwen does know better. But I think this Saturday will be good for her." He turned to me, his eyes gleaming. "And you and I need to talk once our guest leaves. Will you be staying for dinner? Gwen makes a mean fish fillet." He now turned to Edward.

"No sir, my mom is making a huge buffet for family night tonight, so I won't be able to. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, say hello to your mother and father for me." He waved before heading up the steps, probably to drop off his gun belt and dress into some civilian clothes.

"That... went better than expected," I tell the vampire.

Edward lightly snorted. "You wouldn't say that if you listened to what he thought. For half of the conversation, he was thinking of the nearest All Girls Academies that he could afford to send you to." I belted out in laughter, hunching over trying to catch my breath.

"Oh, oh gosh." I started to wipe my eyes from the tears that started to form.

"I should start to head out," he tells me, kissing my forehead quickly. "I'll see you later."

"I don't want you to leave," I sigh.

"I can come back later tonight," he tells me, standing up. I follow suit, moving my arms around his middle.

"Please?" One arm went over my shoulders and the other massaged my scalp.

"You need to eat, and Esme's going to go crazy if I don't get home soon." Another soft kiss on the top of my head, I moved my face now from his torso to look up into the light butterscotch eyes. "Think of some snacks you want to get." He winked and let go, moving to the door. "I'll see you soon, Gwen."

I waved, following him to it. "Drive safely!" I called out to him, he was already halfway to his car now. He turned and gave a crooked smile. I stood there till his car sped off and by then Dad was down the stairs wearing some jeans and a flannel, crossing his arms.

"You have a lot of explaining, little lady." I gulped nervously.


	13. Tireless

"So..." Dad said over the table, our spaghetti sitting between us. "You and Edward," I nod, sucking my lips in, a way to not say anything incriminating. "The Cullens are good folk, despite what this town has said. We're lucky to have Dr. Cullen here," he tells me. "Lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town."

"We are... And Edward's a gentleman," I add on. "Opens the doors for me, carried my bag, that kind of stuff. I like him. A lot."

"A lot?" He raised an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and twirled the noodles onto my fork.

"Enough to ask you not to threaten him." I shovel the pasta into my mouth, slurping the excess noodles that refused to enter. I grab a slice of the french bread we had toasted and start munching on it.

"Fine, fine," he says with mock-reluctance. "You owe me." I fling a single strand of spaghetti onto his plate.

"Debt paid in full," I reply with a laugh.

The rest of dinner is pretty quiet, involving a comfortable silence beside the munching of food. That's one of the best things about Dad, we didn't need to talk all the time. Once we were done, we washed the dishes from both this morning and dinner. Once we were done, Dad grabbed a beer, I grabbed a water bottle and we started watching a sports commentator on the previous game; College Basketball Season. March Madness had just ended three days prior, so they were trying to figure out who would go farther in their sports career to the NBA or if this was the end of the line for them.

During commercials, we talked about our day, the challenges and the annoyances, the victories and losses, things like that; avoiding the fight we had the night previous. Eventually, the time came around eight o'clock and I wanted to have a shower before Dad used all the hot water. I got up from the couch and went to my bedroom, grabbing my pajamas and a towel. Once I'm done doing that, I brush my teeth and take my medication, minus the sleep aide. It was still somewhere between eight and nine, a little early for me to sleep without waking up in the middle of the night. I head back downstairs and grab my book bag.

"Night Dad," I tell him with a wave, going back up to my room.

"Night, Gwen, sleep tight!" He calls back from the couch.

"Don't let the bedbugs bite!" I reply from my door. Twisting the door nob open, I throw my book bag at the leg of my desk and flopping to my desk chair. I booted up my laptop and waited for it to connect to the internet. While I did, I fished out some of the homework I hadn't finished out. There was the paper we had assigned in APUSH that could be done with the help of the preferred website that's listed on the worksheet instead of the textbook I would have had to lug around tomorrow till I could give it back to Mr. Brown. And I didn't feel up to carrying the big thing instead of just using my handy little laptop.

I scoot my chair to the lamp near my bed, turning it on so I could see what I was doing without turning on the overhead light. When I head back to my desk with a pull of my legs; I heard someone.

"You know, I could just help you with that," A voice said behind me. I felt tense and jumpy all at the same time, a small scream bubbled in my throat but wasn't released into the air due to my hands covering my mouth. I turned the chair completely around, looking at the intruder that caused my panic.

"You could have warned me!" I hissed in a whisper. My eyes then looked around the room, trying to figure out how he even got into my room. "How did you-"

"The window." I looked at him as if he grew a second head, and he didn't need to be a mind reader to know what I was thinking. "Vampire, remember?" He goes to sit on my bed, it sinking due to his weight.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember," I mumble, turning back to the sheets of paper that were strewn about. "And if you told me the answers, then I wouldn't learn anything, would I?" I smirked as if I was a genius for thinking it. "Besides, it's an essay, I have most of it done, just need to finish my thesis."

"What's your favorite color?" he asked out of the blue, a moment of silence sat between us.

"It changes, nearly every day. But recently it's stuck to a light gray. Like the clouds when they're not going to rain so heavily you start to believe you're under a waterfall, but when it's just a nice overcast," I answer. How thorough I answered surprised me, I didn't expect me to say something so eloquently like that.

"What music is in your CD player now?" He asked, moving from my bed to my small stereo at a leisurely pace - his feet making not a hint of sound - playing the music. "Radiohead?" he asked, in disbelief of my music.

"Yes," I reply, amused by his antics while I tried to finish my paper. "The song's called Bodysnatchers, it's their new CD, but I preordered it back in June last year, so I got an early copy of their hit singles."

"So, you go from Debussy to this?" I turn to look at his reaction, his face doesn't turn from the stereo, though it was pretty low he probably could hear it perfectly. But his reaction was one of joy, while he didn't fully express it as one usually would (Edward was a perpetually stoic person all around) it was clear as day on his face if you looked for it.

"I have a _wide_ variety of music tastes. I'll listen to nearly anything," I tell him. I begin to try to finish my last sentence of my thesis, but my brain became scattered with the unexpected arrival of Edward. Not that I was complaining!

"Everything except country, right?" he joked, I smiled wide and nodded.

"Mostly. There are a few good country artists, Johnny Cash, for example. He's someone I could listen to endlessly." I dotted my 'I's and crossed my t's before putting my notebook back in my bag. I began to yawn and walk over to my bed. "What time is it?" I question, mainly to myself. I look at my digital alarm clock, it's green lights blink and reveal it to be 9:37 already. My shower had to have been a lot longer than I thought... "Any more questions?" I ask the vampire teasingly. I receive a half smile that I've come to know him for. He's at the small shelving to the side to my bed in a second, sitting on the open side I had yet to sprawl into.

"None that can't wait until tomorrow."

"I thought this was a one-day thing?" I ask, tucking myself in and going for my lamp to turn it off.

"Well, you asked quite a bit about me back," he retorts. "So tomorrow, you're going to answer all my questions - within reason - and I recall you never put a time limit to my questioning." I shook my head in disbelief.

"Whatever you say," I snort, digging myself deeper into the pillow and comforter. "You sleeping over?"

"We don't need to sleep," he replies.

"Not even a little?" My eyes widen, tracing over the outline of his silhouette I could see from the window's mediocre light. I see his head shake in denial. "You poor thing, I don't know what I'd do without sleep."

He lightly laughs at this. "Well, we've learned to entertain ourselves. Have things to do. Now, go to sleep... you need it, oh fragile human." I felt my chest shake in unvoiced laughter

"You can stay, if you'd like," I sleepily whisper; a yawn leaving my lips. "I'm sorry, I'm just really tired. I'd talk more..."

"Sh, Gwen. You have nothing to be sorry for, get some sleep." A hand brushed its way through my hair, leaving me calmed and eager to sleep. Besides the hand that lightly brushed my hair, the last thing I felt was a cold hand slip gently into mine and the soft hums of an acoustic guitar going off on the stereo, accompanied by some type of unknown lullaby that Edward was humming, fixing small notes as it went. It soon lead me to the pitch black of sleep, dreamless.

When I woke up, the only thing letting me know that Edward had been there, was a coat. His coat. A grey peacoat, that was twice my size and cold to the touch that laid at the foot of my bed. I got up with a yawn, taking the coat with me while I went downstairs to forage for some food.

"Morning, Gwen," Dad greets me, pouring milk into a bowl on the table.

"Morning, what's up?" I ask, putting the coat on the seat of the chair - hoping he wouldn't ask to many questions.

"Just getting you some breakfast, you going out in that?" He nodded to my sweats and t-shirt. My pajamas. I shook my head and sat down, taking the spoon Dad graciously handed to me. "Alright, well, I'm heading out this morning, and Schmidt still needs someone to cover for him. This flu is kicking his ass," he tells me, cleaning up his breakfast. "So, I'll be home when you get back from school, Edward coming back over?"

I scoop the frosted flakes into my mouth and nod. "Yeah, I think so. That okay?"

"Go for it, kiddo. So long as you keep it PG." I snorted and continued eating. "It's the one thing all men have on their minds, Gwen, don't you ever doubt it."

"You on that list too, Dad?" I tease.

"Dad's aren't on that list, Gwen," Dad countered. "Not this one, anyway." He finished the rest of his coffee and took his jacket off of the back of his chair, shoving his arms into the sleeves. "I gotta get going, I'll see you after school." I gave a thumbs up as I stuffed my face. "Love you!" He yelled from the doorway.

"Lwove ywo too!" I called out, some milk dribbling down my chin. I laughed, my hand going over my mouth to not let any of the cereal escape.

"Grab a chair for the self-Heimlich!" he joked back, a smile curling on his face. I waved him off with the hand not covering my mouth. I hear the door slam and I'm eating the last floating bits of frosted flakes, eventually just swirling them. I finished the excess milk and dropped it into the sink.

I skipped the stairs two at a time to go grab some clothes. grabbed a random sweater from my closet and a pair of jeans. Luckily the sweater was black and the jeans a regular blue, I don't think I had much time till Edward got here and I would rather _not_ be late to class. I grabbed my backpack that still sat by the leg of my desk and started for the door where my shoes were. Last second I remember my coat, but I already have Edward's... so, that'll do instead. I ran back to the table where the jacket still laid on the chair and slipped it on, pulling my hair from being tucked inside of it.

I already saw the silver car pull up and went to the door, wondering how long this would be routine for. I slipped out of my front door, making sure it was locked behind me before fast walking to the passenger door of the Volvo. "Morning!" I greeted, trying to show my enthusiasm.

"Good morning," Edward replied, a smile already breaking onto his face. "How are you today?"

"Alright," I reply. "Thanks for asking." The car started moving, a snail's pace compared to Edward's typical thirty over any given speed limit.

"Did you sleep alright?" he asked, his eyes focusing on the road.

"It was okay, better than most nights, anyway," I confide. I pulled my hair from the back to the front; it was being pulled on by my back against the seat. "How about you?" I joke, knowing he couldn't sleep even if he wanted to.

"Not a chance," he tells me, head shaking as he turns onto the highway. "Today is _all_ you. Nothing from me, Gwen. You're the one answering the questions." His body leans just a bit over mine, going for the glove box and pulling out a CD that was jammed into the small space. He took it out and quickly put it into the CD player before cramming it back into its original place. And soon enough, Johnny Cash's Jackson featuring Jane Carter started playing causing me to smile. He remembered. "Thought you might like to listen to this," he comments. "Now, questions."

"Alright, fine," I mock sighed. "What do you want to know?"

And that was the start of my day.

While he walked me to British Literature, when he met me in Spanish, all through the lunch hour, he questioned me relentlessly about every insignificant detail of my boring living existence. Movies I liked and hated, the few places I'd been and the many places I wanted to go, and books - endlessly books. Books were probably the easiest subject for me to talk about. Countless hours in a hospital room with nothing to do but watch the same reruns of Days of Our Lives would do that to you.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd talked so much that wasn't to a therapist or my dad. More often than not, I felt self-conscious, that even though he was asking the questions, that I was still being annoying by even talking about me the whole time. But the absolute absorption of his face and his never-ending stream of questions made me feel as if I _had_ to continue. Obviously, I knew I didn't have to continue and the second I would tell him I felt uncomfortable Edward would halt in his inquisition. Mostly his questions were easy, only a very few triggering my blushes because of the idiotic answers I gave, that made me feel _stupid_. But when my face did redden to a tomato (despite my darker skin) he began a whole new string of questions.

For example, the time he asked my favorite gemstone, and I blurted out the word zircon before thinking for a _second_. He'd been flinging questions at me with such speed that I felt like I was taking one of those psychiatric tests from when I was a kid, where you answer with the first word that comes to mind and the next question comes just as fast. I was sure he would have continued down whatever mental list he was following, except the blush that appeared made him stop. It wasn't even that bad of an answer!

My face only flushed because, until very recently, my favorite gemstone was turquoise. It was impossible while staring back into his yellow-zircon eyes, not to remember the reason for the switch. And, naturally, he wouldn't rest until I'd admitted why I was embarrassed and when I tried to tell him I wasn't it was the 'I can hear your heart, you know' card and more weird Cold One things that he could do.

Vampires, their ultra senses made it so hard for me to even give out a white lie.

"Tell me," he pleaded, his persuasion attempts having failed moment before.

"This is going to sound so cheesy and dumb," I say, mostly to myself rather than him. "It's the color of your eyes. That orange-gold color." He paused, and I felt like I sounded similar to someone like Lauren, who's only in it for their looks.

But his pause was short. Thank all that's holy.

"What kinds of flowers do you prefer?" he fired off.

I sighed in relief, and continued with the psychoanalysis he seemed so keen on giving me. "Lilacs."

Biology was as comfortable of a situation like yesterday, where I felt as if it should be awkward but it wasn't. Not by a long shot. He kept quizzing me on my favorite chocolates (not that I've had many) all the way till Mr. Banner came in, wheeling the TV we had seen yesterday. This time, instead of letting me lean on him, Edward laid his head down and looked at me, briefly closing his eyes for a few moments here and there as if he was sleeping. I leaned forward on the chair, my elbows resting on the table. It didn't take long for Edward to begin playing with my fingers, his eyes still closed but a small grin slipping its way onto his face.

Once the lights came back on and I had realized my eyes half closed, my position now imitating what was once Edward's at the start of class. I had become tired during the movie, not sure what it was about since I hadn't paid much attention in class yesterday. And it didn't help with the soothing fingers that trailed up and down my hand and eventually tangled into my mane of hair, kneading his fingers softly at the base of my skull.

He rose in silence and then stood still, waiting for me. We walked toward Building Two in a soothing silence hand-in-hand, like yesterday. And, also like yesterday, he touched my face wordlessly - this time with the back of his cool hand, stroking once from my temple to my jaw and a swift kiss to my forehead - before he turned and walked away with my words of goodbye following him.

Today Austin refused to even _look_ at me, let alone speak. But you could tell he was pretty peeved, and I could only assume it was because of yesterday, but I didn't want to say anything. Once class was over, I hurried on out and into the parking lot, feeling the same tension in my legs slow when I saw him standing there, a wide smile automatically spreading across my face. He smiled in reaction before launching into more cross-examination, but not before helping me into the car, a gentleman by all accounts.

His questions were different now, though, not as easily answered. He wanted to know how living in a hospital was, year-round, insisting on descriptions of anything he wasn't familiar with. Which I had doubted since his adopted-father was a doctor for - who knows how long considering he was one in the early nineteen hundreds. Turns out, he was more unfamiliar with today and age's hospitals, considering the advancements we've made in the past ten to twenty years.

We sat in front of Dad's house for hours, as the sky darkened and rain plummeted around us in a sudden deluge. I hadn't even realized Dad _wasn't_ home and it made me feel unsettled that I didn't even realize his lack of presence. Was Edward absorbing that much of my attention?

I tried to describe impossible things like the scent of iodoform - the penetrating and distinctive chemical that gives the smell hospitals are known for - the white hallways that always made me feel less of a person for some reason, the nurses who took care of me round the clock, my physical therapy sessions, and what I did if I wasn't doing any of that. But, if you've been to a hospital for an extended amount of time, you know that it's hard to describe the whole experience. I eventually found myself using my hands as I tried to detail it to him in the best way I could, it's not like I had a speech ready to tell a crowd of people about my time there.

His quiet, probing questions kept me talking freely, forgetting, in the dim light of the storm, to be embarrassed for monopolizing the _entire_ conversation. In the end, once I was done, I had sheepishly felt the embarrassment raise to my cheeks, feeling them redden once more. So when I finally had finished detailing my cluttered hospital room, he paused instead of responding with another question.

"Are you finished?" I asked, hoping that he was. My throat was getting dry and I had talked _so much today._

"Not even close - but your father will be home soon." I nodded and unbuckled, taking my book bag out from the floor of his car and stepping onto the soaked grass, feeling it leak into my shoes. Edward was on my heels, helping me to the door and taking off my - his - jacket and placing it on the coat rack as we made our way to the dining table. With a sigh, Edward sat on my left side. "It's twilight."

I looked towards the window that was over the sink, the glass separating me from the outside allowed where you can enjoy the greenery but still stay inside and do what you must to keep your home clean. "The sunset is beautiful," I tell him in a soft voice. "But we live in Forks," I joke.

"It's the safest time for us." I turn my head back to the pale man, to see him studying any reaction I would have to his words. "The easiest. But also the saddest, in a way... the end of the day, the return of the night. Darkness is so predictable," he murmurs, more to himself than to me. I still continue the conversation.

"But there are the stars," I reply, leaning back and slouching within my chair. "They're beautiful, and without the night we wouldn't have them. To see other stars light years away from us, what would take millions of years to reach them. And we're living in a day and age where we _can_ see them. With light pollution, it's a bit harder, but they're still there." Edward seemed to have picked up on what I was saying. Edward compared the night to a monster, predictable and where danger strikes the most. What he believed was himself. But to me, he was the star in the night, and I was lucky enough to have met him and be his friend and... girlfriend sounds so immature for how I feel for him, for how much I care for his person. But the word girlfriend would have to do for now.

Edward began to stiff up, looking at our interlocked hands before standing. "Another complication," he mumbles. "I have to go," he tells me, letting go of my hand. "I'll see you tonight." With a swift kiss to my cheek Edward heads for the door, slipping his jacket on.

"Edward!" I hear Dad call from the driveway. I get up and start walking to the door, leaning out to get a glimpse of my father, who's just beginning to get out of his car. "How you doing, son?"

"Good, Chief Swan, I'm sorry but I have to leave, family emergency." Dad's face turned crestfallen.

"Ah, understood. If you need anything just give us a call," Dad tells him, a black car pulling up behind the Volvo, one I had easily recognized.

"Will do, Chief. It's nice to see you again, hopefully, we'll see each other soon."

"Of that, I have no doubt." Dad turns to the back seat of his cruiser and pulls out some grocery bags. "You have a good rest of your night."

"You too," Edward replies, opening the silver car's door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gwen."

"See ya." I waved. I watched as he sped away and the passengers in the small black car exit. "Hey, Jake! Hey, Billy!" I greet. And the look on Billy's face... His nostrils flared and his chest puffed. Did Billy recognize Edward? Had he met him before? While everyone else in the tribe scoffed at the legends of cold ones, did he believe them?

His face answered it all. He did.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't see you behind the wheel, Jacob," Dad mock scolded. Jacob scoffed, going to help his father.

"We get our permits early on the rez," Jacob replies, I flick the porch light on to help them get into the house without tripping over their feet and cracking their necks. Well, that may be a more of a Dad thing and Billy's in a wheelchair... either way, it should help them find their way to the door.

"Whatever you say," I tease my younger cousin. Dad and Jacob help Billy into his wheelchair and into the house. "Any of you hungry? I was just about to make some grilled cheeses."

"We just ate, so we're good," Jacob answers. I turn to look at Dad and he nods.

"Two for me? With tomatoes?" I nod and start for the kitchen. The bread is starting to fry and the cheese was melting, I was slicing some tomatoes when Jacob comes in, grabbing a plate.

"You mind if I have one? It smells too good to pass up." I nod with a smile.

"Sure thing," I verbally answer. "So, how's that Rabbit coming along?"

"Still missing the Master Cylinder but it's pretty steady. Going to get _all_ the chicks." I scoff and roll my eyes. "What? I am!"

"Yeah, you with your baby face? Girls will be knocking your door down... to get out," I joke earning a light-hearted shove to my shoulder.

"So who's the guy with the sweet ride?" he asked, nodding his head to the front side of the house. "Dad seemed to recognize him from somewhere."

I took a deep inhale and then a deep exhale. "It was Edward Cullen... we're kind of dating," I whisper the last bit and Jacob just howls in laughter.

"W-w-what?!" He has to take deep breaths to keep himself from laughing anymore than he already was, trying to keep it down so neither of our fathers would hear our conversation. Nevertheless, his smile is contagious and makes me give a smile of my own. "No wonder Dad looked so pissed."

"He's a superstitious old man," I jest to the fifteen-year-old, mumbling it under my breath. "Think he's going to tell Dad the legends? Oh, hand me a plate, please?"

His arms raise far above my head and over the sink, grabbing one of the plates Dad had picked out from the nearest Walmart. "Doubt it, Charlie chewed him out pretty badly last time. They haven't spoken much since, one of the reasons we haven't been up here for so long. I think today's some kind of reunion for the two."

"I swear," I start to complain. "The two of them need to act like adults, just because Billy has something against the Cullens shouldn't get in the way of their friendship. Besides, if it wasn't for Edward, I'd be smushed," I tell the teen.

"What?" he questions. I guess he didn't know about the story Edward and I have created about the incident.

"That car crash from like, two weeks ago? Yeah, Edward was standing next to me, we were talking about something, don't remember," I fib, so easily it almost seemed like it was the truth. As if it was second nature, and it made me a bit scared of myself. "But then Tyler Crowley's van comes to fast over some ice and heads straight for us. Edward pulled me out of the way when my legs tensed up; I could barely move. He also carried me to the ambulance. He's a good guy, Jacob." He looks thoughtful but happy, if his small genuine grin is anything to go by.

"He seems good for you, at least with what you said." Jacob puts the plates on the counter to allow me to put one of the grilled cheeses on it. Dad's. "You seem _infatuated_ with him." Jacob's eyebrows wiggle up and down and I laugh, bumping my hip with his.

"Yeah, whatever. Tomatoes or no tomatoes?" The rest of the night was long and filled with chatter. While I did talk with Jake, I was also listening to the adult's conversation too. Wondering if Billy would say anything to Dad, despite it being against one of the tribal laws. He was the Elder of the Quileute tribe, so I guess he can decide on who knows or not. But I kind of didn't want that nagging suspicion in the back of his head, but Billy also wouldn't want to start another fight. Especially not during a game.

It was a long night. I didn't have a ton of homework, just a worksheet from Spanish class that was half done. But I wanted to go into my room, I was getting tired and my legs had begun to ache again despite staying to make sure Billy didn't say anything to Dad. To my luck, the game ended.

"That was fun, Charlie," Billy chimes.

"Come up for the next game," Charlie encouraged, standing and stretching his limbs.

"Sure, sure," Billy said. "We'll be here. Have a good night." His eyes shifted to mine, and his smile disappeared, the look in his eyes were warning me. "You take care, Gwen," he added seriously.

"Thanks," I smile, trying to show that I wasn't anyway near afraid of those stories. "Bonfire still on for the thirteenth?"

"Yep," Billy nodded, starting to roll out to the door. "See you guys later!"

"Bye!" Dad and I both simultaneously say. Once they're out of view do we move our feet.

"I'm heading to bed," I tell him, going for the stairs.

"Alright, remember your meds!" he tells me, cleaning up the mess in the living room. I give a sound from my throat that acknowledged the words. I head to our shared bathroom we had and take my medication from their bottles. With the pills in my mouth, I lean down to the sink and start swallowing the tap water straight from the faucet. Once the pills are down I head to my bedroom, seeing what I had already expected. Edward sitting on my bed, shoes off and reading 'Leaves of Grass' intently.

"Hello," he says gently. And I smile.


	14. Can You Tell

Two more days of questions. Two. Of pure. Questions. It felt weird, being asked of every speck of my life and in the deepest detail, I could manage. It was Friday, now and I briefly wondered if today would be the day I get to ask questions again.

I slept better Thursday night, too tired due to my medication to dream. I've been falling asleep around seven or eight o'clock nowadays, unable to stay awake till Edward could get there. When I woke that Friday morning to the pearl gray morning, my mood was blissful. The tense evening with Billy and Jacob seemed harmless enough a few days later; I decided to forget it as completely as I could. I was humming some tune I was unfamiliar with and fiddled with my shirt. I practically _skipped_ my way down the stairs, I was so happy. The week was over and I could finally relax this weekend and go on that date with Edward tomorrow.

"You're cheerful this morning," Dad commented over breakfast.

I shrugged, giving an easy explanation. "It's Friday."

I hurried so I would be ready to go the second Dad left as it seemed that Edward always showed up only a moment after he was gone. I had my bag over my shoulders, shoes on, teeth brushed, but even though I rushed to the door as soon as I was sure Dad would be out of sight, Edward was faster. He was waiting in his shiny car, windows down, engine off.

I didn't hesitate this time like I did on Monday, climbing in the passenger side quickly, the sooner I got his questions over with the better. He grinned his crooked smile at me, making my heart race just a bit, which only made him smile wider. He may not be able to read my mind, but he could certainly understand my human reactions.

"How did you sleep?" he asked. I wondered if he had any idea how appealing his voice was. Melted Chocolate incarnate, I'll die knowing that's what it sounded like. And I'll _never_ say it aloud.

"Fine. How was your night?"

"Pleasant." His smile was amused; I felt like I was missing an inside joke.

"Can I ask what you did?" I asked.

"No." He grinned. "Today is still mine."

I groaned, hitting my head on the headrest of the seat. "It's been your day all week," I whine. My hand travels unknowingly down my leg, massaging the aching tissues.

"You okay?" he asks, looking at me and then to my legs. I widen my eyes, I hadn't truly realized I was doing anything but sitting.

"Uh, yeah. I must have been kicking in my sleep or something, my legs don't feel real good." My voice held a wave to it that I didn't want to talk any more about it. I felt almost as if my legs were my personality sometimes, that it was the only thing people saw.

Edward made me think differently.

While most of the week consisted of items, favorites, and dislike. Today's questions seemed to point to people. Such as Dad, my favorite thing to do with him, his hobbies(besides hunting and baseball/any sport _ever),_ my other family, and a few of my mom and her husband. But the subject didn't stay long on them. I didn't know them, I hadn't seen them both in ten years so I couldn't really say anything. We began talking about other people in the hospitals I would frequent, the friends I had made, though few and many didn't keep in contact once they left, living their life to the highest degree.

And soon enough we began on the topic of romance. About how many boys I had dated. I barked out a laugh.

"Yeah, funny," I said between my laughter. His face resembled that of Angela when I told her about my love life... or lack thereof. I look at his face to not see mirth but confusion on his face. "Oh... you're serious." He nods and I huff. "No, no boyfriends. It wasn't like a John Sparks book, most people don't really interact with each other in the hospital, especially the kid's ward. Not unless we went out of our way. And I hated wheelchairs so I stayed cooped up in my room. I didn't mind it, I had my books so I was good." He looked shocked at admittance. "What?"

"Not a single boyfriend...?"

"That would mean a guy would have to be at least the tiniest bit attracted to me," I add. "No guy really wants to date the crippled, not unless they have... a fetish or something." I shudder at the thought of the one man who hit on me _because_ of my legs. "If I try to walk for over a half an hour straight, I'll probably go back on my healing progress by a month or two. Small intervals of walking, that I can do. But anything more than fifteen minutes makes me dizzy and hurts my legs."

"So you never met anyone you ever wanted?" He questioned, I lightly laughed.

"Not anywhere but Forks, no." He smiles at this, grabbing my hand and rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. At this point of the day, we're in the canteen, eating off the same tray as we had been all week. Just as I'm taking a bite of a ham sandwich Edward groans. I look at him, wondering if someone cut themselves and were bleeding. His eyes were still that gold zircon color but he looked more annoyed than anything. "Something wrong?"

"I should have let you drive yourself today," he mumbles. His eyes looking from out intertwined hands to my face. I must look inquisitive to what he means about driving myself because he continues. "I'm leaving after lunch with Alice."

I nod and set the half-eaten sandwich down, grabbing a napkin with my free hand. "That's okay. I can walk home."

"We just got done with a conversation about how if you walk any longer than fifteen minutes-"

I cut him off. "It's a twenty-minute walk, I'll sit on the curb after ten minutes or something and rest then begin again. It's not a big deal."

He frowned at me now, not into the idea. "I'm not going to make you walk home. Alice and I will go get your truck and leave it here for you."

"I don't have my key with me," I tell him. "I really don't mind walking." What I minded was losing my time with him but it quickly evaporated from my mind as I remembered we'd have tomorrow.

He shook his head. "Your truck will be here, and the key will be in the ignition - unless you're afraid someone might steal it." He laughed at the thought and I lightly joined in. While I love Jenny, no one else would ever want her. But she was my baby.

"All right," I agreed, pursing my lips. I was pretty sure my key was in the pocket of a pair of jeans I wore Sunday(the last time I drove her), under a pile of clothes in the laundry room. Even if he broke into my house, or whatever he was planning, he'd never find it. He seemed to feel the challenge in my consent. He smirked, overconfident.

"So where are you going?" I asked, not trying to pry but it felt like I was.

"Hunting," he answered grimly. "Just a precautionary measure." His face grew morose... and pleading. Hoping I'd do what he wanted. "You can always cancel, you know."

I stared him down, feeling my heart beat a bit faster. I refused to be convinced to fear him, no matter how real the danger might be. He's a good man. "No," I whispered, my eyes undoubtedly becoming tenser as we continued our stare down. "I won't. I can't."

"Perhaps you're right," he murmured bleakly. His eyes seemed to darken in color at this point of the conversation.

I changed the subject. "What time will I see you tomorrow?" I asked.

"That depends... it's a Saturday, don't you want to sleep in?" he offered.

"Just a bit, not too much." I grab my sandwich again and start to finish it, taking small bites so it's easier to swallow and I can speak.

If Dad could see me right now he would be so proud of me for the small bites.

"Then nine o'clock," he decided. "Will Chief Swan be there?"

"No, he's fishing tomorrow," I answer. "Because of the nice weather."

His voice turned sharp. "And if you don't come home, what will he think?"

"I have no idea," I answered coolly. "He knows I've been meaning to do the laundry. Maybe he'll think I fell in the washer," I joke with a large smile.

He scowled at me and I mock-scowled back, scrunching up my face and playfully narrowing my eyes. His face was much more impressive and could probably scare anyone. I'd have to say mine looked like a toddler who didn't get their snack.

"So... do you just hunt whatever or...?"

He chuckles at my question, the scowl falling off, my mocking one follows suit and he begins to answer. "Today we are. Most times we go after more carnivorous animals such as bears and mountain lions." Things clicked in my brain.

"Goat Rocks!" I gasped, earning a quick glance from another student. He turned back to his table just as quick. I said in a quieter voice, "That's where you went last week, for bears?!" I hissed the whisper.

He nods, biting his lower lip. "Yes, it's Emmett's favorite 'food'." He air quotes.

"What about you?" I question, finally getting some answers after this whole week. I don't think he even realizes he's answering them. "What's your favorite?"

"Mountain lion," he nods, a faraway look in his eye as if he could see the big cat in the distance. "And Jasper and Rosalie want to join," he groans, leaning his head back. I turn to his table where the four sit, they're all smiles and turn to look over at me. Alice gives an enthusiastic wave, Rosalie graces me with a blinding smile, and Emmett nods to me, a smirk on his lips, while Jasper only nods, looking as uncomfortable as ever. I give a shy wave back and turn to Edward once more.

"More competition?" I tease.

"More jabs to me, more like," he tells me. "I probably won't come over at all today."

I continually nod. "Alright, just... I was going to say be careful but you're you... so."

He laughs at this, finding it to be hilarious. "Yeah... yeah." His face falters in its smile and looks at me with tender eyes. "I just can't seem to stay away from you."

I huff, a cocky grin slithering its way onto my face. "Yeah, whatever."

"I have a good perception of human behavior," he begins to say. "Their reactions, the average grasp of human nature. People are predictable. But you never do what I expect you to do. You're always taking me by surprise. Doing things most people wouldn't. You fascinate me."

Now he's just pulling on my leg. But what if he wasn't? The way he spoke very nearly made me feel like a Science Fair Experiment.

"And you're leaving now?" I ask, dabbing my mouth for the last time with the napkin, the sandwich was finally gone.

"Yes," he nods. "It's probably for the best. We're finishing the second movie today." I roll my eyes for the umpteenth time today. "Don't worry, you can probably sleep through it."

"Yeah, whatever," I wave him off. "Go bag some cougar or something."

"He won't," an angelic voice says behind me, hands soon on my shoulders. I jump just a bit in surprise, hand going to my chest.

"Alice," Edward begins to scold.

"Don't worry," I tell him. "It's fine, I had my focus elsewhere." This gets him to smile just a bit. I turn in my seat, looking at the black hair that's spiked around her head like a halo, and her face reminds me of what an elf would look like, a slight smile. "How's your day going, Alice?"

"Good, I'll make sure you have your truck before school ends." She winks and Rosalie and Jasper appear behind her.

"Gwen," Rosalie greets, forcing emotion into it but had a tight-lipped smile, trying to reassure me just a bit.

"Rosalie, Jasper." I nod to both of them. "It's nice to talk to you again." I stand and pick up my bookbag, Edward taking our tray. "You guys have fun, I'm going to go and take a nap in biology." I pump a fist into the air in fake enthusiasm. "Yaaaay," I monotonously cheered. This earns me a few chuckles.

"We'll see you later," Jasper nods, his Southern twang more noticeable. Made me wonder where he was originally from. Once Edward's back to the table, he picks up his nearly forgotten bookbag and his hand travels across my back till it reaches the opposite waist he's near. His lips find purchase onto my cheek and I lean just the tiniest bit into it before he lets go.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he tells me.

"Nine o'clock," I confirm he only smiles and they begin to leave through the canteen's main doors and then the parking lot.

"Hate for her to go, love to watch her leave." I fully jump at the new voice and turn my face beet red at being caught staring at the four. "I really scared you, didn't I?" Emmett teases, his hand reaching for my head and messing up my hair playfully. "Come on, let's not be late."

I chuckle and pick up speed to catch up with his long strides. "Why didn't you go?" I playfully ask. "Got your fill of Yogi?" He laughs at my attempt of a joke.

"Never can get enough of good ole' Yogi the Bear. But, I stayed behind because I got that test in APUSH this hour." I inhaled deeply and began to pull at my hair. "You alright?"

"I forgot... all about it," I whispered, knowing he could hear me. He laughs and I seem to recognize his personality to be the more playful of the Cullens.

"So, Edward monopolize your time? Not allowing you to study?" I shook my head in denial.

"It was one of the last things on my mind," I confess trying to rack up all the information I had attained from the past month. "Tell me how it goes?" I plead as we get closer and closer to the science building and start to drift away from him in favor of the building.

"Will do." He mockingly salutes with two fingers and turns for building two.

I eventually do take a nap in Biology, only waking up when I hear the shuffling of other people getting their books and such together. Mike gave me a small smile as he left for his next class, a little laughter on his lips and my undoubtedly messy hair. After gathering my things, I began my trek to APUSH, realizing instead of sleeping I should have been studying. To late now, I tell myself.

"Should be pretty easy," Emmett encourages me, walking past as we stop on the sidewalk for a brief moment. "Multiple choice, and a three paragraph answer. Just look at the multiple choice's questions, all of them have an answer to another question in them." He winks and begins walking off to his next class.

"Thanks, Emmett!" I call, cupping my hands over my mouth and walking backward. The burly cold one gives a thumbs up and says good luck.

The test itself wasn't that bad honestly, and Emmett was right. All of the questions had answers to another question, just as he said. The only thing I had a problem with was the writing portion, but I bullshit my way through it. I knew I had most if not all the multiple choice correct so I hope that this section wasn't worth more than ten points. Once all tests are turned in, we still have a few minutes before the end of class and people begin to talk to their peers.

Austin walks over to me, over his little tantrum. "Hey, I hope you have a nice time in Seattle," he smiles, almost crookedly. Like a poor imitation.

"I decided I won't go," I tell him. "My truck would _not_ be able to handle that trip. And I'd rather not be a hundred miles away if it breaks down."

He looks at his feet, his face falling from the smile he tried to wear. "You going to the dance with, Cullen?" he sullenly asks. I shake my head, my lips thinning.

"No, I'm not going to the dance," I plainly tell him, which I should have from the start. "Dancing isn't really my thing, as I have said before."

"What are you doing then?" He asks, all to interested on my whereabouts and looking extra hopeful.

"Edward and I are going on a date," I bluntly tell him, sitting on the table part of my desk. I was still groggy and when I was tired I snipped just the tiniest bit. "It's a surprise, but since it's nice tomorrow we're probably going hiking or something." He looks almost sad but seemed to be understanding. After that I felt a twinge of guilt, putting salt in the wound.

"Ah... gotcha." The final bell goes off and I leave him to sulk and walk out with more enthusiasm than I should for having to walk home. Mr. Brown says goodbye to the class as I'm halfway out the door and to enjoy the break. I started heading for the sidewalk when from the corner of my eye, I see the deeply rusted orange that may have been a brilliant red a few decades ago. The truck - my truck - was parked exactly where Edward and I had parked this morning in the Prius, Emmett gave me a knowing smirk before getting in the red BMW and taking off, not waiting for the gawking of people to surround it.

If I wasn't impressed before, this truly took the cake. I opened the unlocked door and as Edward had told me, my key was in the ignition ready to start. I pulled my bag across my lap and to the passenger seat, the crackling of paper was loud in the almost silent cab, and it wasn't from the inside of my bookbag. I lifted my bag up, coming into contact with a single piece of paper that was folded at an exact ninety degree angle.

 _Be safe_ the elegant script read, two words. Two words that made me insanely happy. Caring about my wellbeing... how screwed up am I when that this kind of behavior made me giddy, how he took the time to do this so I didn't have to walk. I folded the paper as neatly as possible as to how he had done it and carefully put it into my pocket. I turned the key and listened to the loud rumbling of the engine coming to life; almost scaring me as I was so used to Edward's quiet Volvo.

When I got home, the handle of the door was locked, the deadbolt unlocked, just as I'd left it this morning. Inside, I went straight to the laundry room. It looked just the same as I'd left it, too. I dug for my jeans and, after finding them, checked the pockets. I moved to another pair and searched all of the pockets to that one too, then scrambling for my other jeans and did the same. Empty. Maybe I'd hung my key up, after all, I thought, shaking my head.

Dad's work schedule was short today, Schmidt making up for the days Dad covered his shift. I decided on an early start to tonight's dinner, figuring we hadn't had any pasta in awhile. Awhile meaning for a few days… I grinned maniacally and get everything I need to make a good hearty lasagna, taking out the Italian Sausage Dad seemed obsessed about, and after eating it a couple of times, I could see why. Once I got everything ready, I put it in the oven; set the timer for twenty-five minutes with the wrap on top.

I hear the door slam open and the loud stomping of feet. I turn and move to the entryway of the kitchen to get a better look at the front door to see who had entered, and it was none other than my own father. He looked ultimately disgruntled and threw his gun belt onto the couch instead of hanging it up with the respect he always held for it. "Dad?" I was concerned, I'd never seen him so upset. He moved to the couch, sitting down and putting his head in his hands. "Dad?" I ask again, kneeling by his legs, a hand on his knee. "What's wrong?" I whisper.

"He's dead," his voice breaks. Hands move from his face and tears are brimming on his lower lid, clear as day. "Waylon's dead. Animal attack." Waylon's dead? He was one of Dad's oldest friends, I remember seeing him a few weeks ago at the diner, saying hello and welcoming me back to Forks...

"Dad," my voice cracks and I move to sit right next to him. My arms move around to his neck, his arms coming around my back. "Let it out," I whisper, his face digging its way into my shoulder. "It's alright, it's alright," I chant the whisper in his ear, while tears fall down his face and sobs rack the entirety of his body.

It wasn't till the timer went off on the oven did we fall from our embrace. I place a kiss on his head and he flops his body onto the back of the couch. "Lasagna?" he croaks.

"Yep," I confirm, standing to get to the kitchen. Once I take the foil off the pan to let it finish cooking for another twenty-five minutes. I head back into the living room, Dad still in the same position as I left him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He shakes his head. "No, but thank you, Gwen."

"Do you want me to stay home?" I ask, rubbing his shoulder in a comforting way as possible. "I don't have to go out tomorrow."

"No, no," his answer is immediate. "The funeral isn't till Wednesday next week. You have spring break, right?" He asks, my eyes go wide.

"I don't think so..."

"I believe it's next week," he grunts, his regular demeanor making an appearance. "Got a warning about it from Port Angeles. They almost always have the same schedule as Forks when it comes to the school."

I shrug. "You can go to my room and check on the school's website. It should say if it is or not." He nods and drags himself up the stairs and into my room. I sit on the couch and lean my head back. People dying isn't something new to me. It happens. More times than not. But when you know the person, or had a brief interaction with them... well it takes a different toll on you. And Dad was friends with him since elementary school... it just made sense that it would hit this hard if not harder.

I shudder to think what he would do if I wasn't here. There'd probably be another hole in the wall, maybe he would have had to go on a drinking bender, or maybe he wouldn't even take care of himself, in favor of falling into a depression. That scares me more to even think about it.

"Lucky you," he tells me, coming back down the stairs. I turn and see his brown eyes surrounded by the red that shows he's been crying. "You got a whole week off."

"Wooo," I cheer with one hand. "Sweet, I'm gonna drink and smoke all week."

"Yeah, cause you're such a party animal," he retorts. I go to stand and head back into the kitchen where Dad moved to. "How was school today?"

"I may have, or may have not forgotten we had a test in AP US History." He snorts. " _But,_ I think I did pretty well."

"Well, so long as you did your best," he tells me. I nod and move out of the way so Dad can set the dinnerware down.

After the nearly silent dinner, I folded clothes and moved another load through the dryer. Unfortunately, it was the kind of job that only keeps hands busy and allowed my mind to wander as far as it wanted. I fluctuated between anticipation so intense that it caused me physical pain with the butterflies in my stomach and an insidious fear as to what my father will be like tomorrow. He would be with his friends - my family - but what if I get home after he does and he's allowed to stupor in his thoughts. In 'what if's' and 'could bes' that would swallow him whole.

I pulled the note out of my pocket much more often than necessary to absorb the two small words Edward had written. He wants me to be safe, I told myself again and again. I hope that he feels the same way about my father, that if he knew anything that would hurt him he would tell me.

I began thinking of the legends I had been told as a child to relieve my mind, the stories the depicted the cold ones as heartless savages who only warred for the blood of my people and all humans alike. They were wrong about all cold ones, at least this one... Edward, he cared about me. He cared about _human life._ He valued it, so much he ate animals in their place. Going against his true nature.

I was beyond ecstatic when it was late enough to be acceptable for bedtime. I knew I was far too hyper to sleep, so I took my sleeping aide tonight with my regular medicine as well. I took a quick shower beforehand and finished cleaning myself up while I waited for the drugs to kick in. I wrapped my hair in a towel and got an outfit out for the morning, keeping with my typical sweater routine.

I went downstairs then, if only to give one last hug to my father. When I reached the bottom, I saw him there, sleeping on his side and snoring. An unopened beer on the coffee table where I hoped it would stay.

"Dad," I whispered, shaking his shoulder. His eyes fluttered just the tiniest bit before falling closed once more. "Dad, come on, bed time," I urged, lifting his arm up so he sat up straight. He groaned at this but followed anyways, going up the stairs slowly. DIdn't matter how slow he went, I thought, so long as he went to his bed. Less his back goes out tomorrow.

I helped him into bed, going as far as to take his shoes and socks off and he decided not to change into pajamas in favor of his denim. I rolled my eyes but covered him with a blanket all the same, tucking him in. A swift kiss to the forehead and a whispered, "Good night."

My medication was finally working through my system as I felt my eyelids begging to close but my legs were having muscle spasms like crazy. I decided to rifle through my shoebox of CDs until I found a collection of Chopin's nocturnes. I put the CD on very quietly and then lay down, concentrating on relaxing individual parts of my body before I finally moved to my legs. Somewhere in the middle of that exercise, the pills took full effect, and I gladly sank into unconsciousness.

I woke early, having slept soundly and dreamlessly thanks to my gratuitous drug use. Though I was well rested, I was still a tiny bit more groggy than usual. I dressed languidly, smoothing my collar against my neck, fidgeting with the tan sweater till it hung right over my jeans. I sneaked a swift look out the window to see that Dad had already left. I sent a quick text saying good morning and asking him how he was feeling before throwing it into my purse.

A thin, cottony layer of clouds veiled the sky, the sun just barely hidden. They looked ready to part and show the town it's blue sky and while I would normally enjoy it, but Edward surely wouldn't. It was eight thirty-five, so I rushed down the stairs and grabbed a granola bar and scarfed it down. I drank a glass of milk and washed it in the sink. I don't know what time Dad would be back, let alone myself, so I decided to make sure there were no dishes when either of made it back home. Putting it back in the cupboard I looked at the clock on the stove and headed upstairs, brushing my teeth languidly, my buildup of adrenaline started to fade as quickly as it had came.

Once I was done I made sure all the lights in the house were off before grabbing my purse and going to the door, already seeing the silver car parked in its normal spot. I make sure the door is locked behind me and start my small trek to the car, Edward looking in front of him, a somber expression clear as day. Once I was halfway to the car did he look away, looking at me and began to smile, a laugh bubbling from his chest and getting out of the car to take my hand.

"What're you laughing at?" I ask, is contagious smile making me do the same.

"We're matching," he tells me, pointing at his outfit. He wore a tan sweater but unlike me, he had a white button up underneath, the only thing showing of it was his collar accenting the blue jeans and nice shoes. I giggle back and shake my head.

"We look like one of those really corny couples," I say aloud moving for my truck. "Now c'mon, we made a deal." He feigned a groan and moved to the passenger side while I sat on the driver's side. "Where to?" I asked, spinning my keys on my index finger.

"Put your seatbelt on - I'm already nervous." I shoot him a dirty look and did as I was told, keeping the eye contact.

"Where to?" I repeated.

"Take the one-oh-one north." I nod and back out of the driveway and began making my way to the back road. After driving for ten minutes and feeling the same eyes on my face for the entirety of it, did I finally speak up.

"You know, a picture would last longer." He chuckles and my eyes leave the road for a millisecond to see his reaction before turning back to the road.

"We going to make it out of Forks by nightfall?" he teases, as I'm going the _speed limit._

"We will get there when we get there," I retort. "And show the truck a bit of respect. She could be your car's grandmother - Jenny's half your age." I nudge him and bite my bottom lip so I don't laugh too hard.

"Jenny?" he incredulously asks.

"Jenny," I confirm with a nod. "That's her name." I rub my hand on the dashboard to emphasize who Jenny is. Edward just shook his head at my antics and continued to stare at me. We were soon out of the town limits and the thick underbrush and green-swathed trunks replaced the lawns and houses.

"Turn right on the one-ten," he instructed just as I was about to ask. I obeyed silently. "Now we drive until the pavement ends."

I could hear a smile in his voice, but I was too afraid of driving off the road and proving him right to look over and be sure. "And what's there, at the pavement's end?" I wondered aloud.

"A trail."

"We're hiking?" Thank goodness I'd worn some comfortable shoes.

"Is that a problem?" He sounded as if he'd expected as much, a smirk definitely on his face.

"No." I tried to make the lie sound confident. But if he thought my truck was slow... Oh shit, I am _way_ slower.

"Don't worry, it's only five miles or so, and we're in no hurry."

Five miles. I didn't answer so that he wouldn't hear my voice crack in panic. Five miles of treacherous roots and loose stones, trying to twist my ankles or otherwise incapacitate me. This was going to be humiliating. We drove in silence for a while as I contemplated the coming horror.

"What are you thinking?" he asked impatiently after the few moments of silence.

I lied again. "Just wondering where we're going."

Apparently he could tell I was lying and scooted just a bit closer to me. "It's a place I like to go when the weather's nice." From the corner of my eye, I watched his narrow. "You don't think I'll really let you walk, five miles? Right?"

I swallowed and briefly looked at him and take a deep breath before letting it come out of my lips. "I was hoping not. Five miles would take me at _least_ ten years to get there. How long is it really?"

"Five miles," he repeats. I guess he wasn't joking then. But then how am I supposed to get there? My eyes widen in shock and I felt myself swallow my saliva. "I'll carry you there." I blanched at the thought.

"Okay, listen. I look small, I really do, but I am _not_ in anyway light enough for you to carry for _five miles_."

"We'll see about that." The air between us became serious and he spoke in a low voice. "You did tell your dad you'll be with me, right?" I nodded.

"And Austin knows, he got me mad yesterday with his pestering so I was as straightforward as possible. Sweet kid, but can't take a hint," I huff. "So at least two people know, and I think Angela does to, but I can't remember if I told her in gym the other day." I took the risk of letting my eyes leave the road. "You know, you won't hurt me."

"You don't know that," his voice became clipped.

"Eh, I have a feeling." He didn't like that. The rest of the ride was in a tense silence so when we came to a slow stop, the road ending and the trail prominent was any sound made. I got out of the car and the muggy air slapped me across the face and made me break into a sweat. I took my sweater off threw it into the car so I wouldn't lose it on the trek to this magical place. Edward had followed my lead, but while I wore a green tank top, Edward wore a white button up, showing off his neck and collar, the sleeves rolled up his forearms.

Damn. Do I have a thing for forearms?

"This way," he said, glancing over his shoulder at me, eyes still annoyed with my words. He started into the dark forest that was _not_ the trail.

"The trail?" Panic was clear in my voice as I hurried around the truck to catch up to him. Do all of the Cullens walk in super long strides?

"I said there was a trail at the end of the road, not that we were taking it."

"No trail?" I asked desperately, trying to understand what exactly he was doing.

"I won't let you get lost." He turned once he was at the edge of the trees with a mocking smile; I narrowed my eyes at him. "Do you want to go home?" his face turned serious and sullen and I shook my head.

"No, I just... five miles, Edward." Before I knew it, I was lifted up and my arms began to try and find purchase on something so I wouldn't fall, my fingers tangled in high-quality fabric and soft silky hair. When my eyes open I'm staring down into the gold eyes I've come to care for. "What are you doing?" is all I can manage to get out, my legs were wrapped around his waist and ooooh boy this felt intimate. Was it intimate? It felt intimate. Was I supposed to do something? What do girls do in these situations?

"We're going hiking," he tells me as if he was talking to a child. "And it's five miles. Those five miles, I will be carrying you. I wouldn't dare risk your legs becoming injured again." I was put back on my feet and Edward turned to show me his back, putting a single knee on the ground. "It'll be fine, Gwen." I took an ecstatic breath, before moving my arms around his neck and his hands grip my thighs before lifting me up just a bit more. If he wasn't a vampire, I would have probably choked him out by now.

For the most part, we walked in silence. Occasionally he would ask a random question that he hadn't gotten to in the past four days of interrogation. He asked about my birthdays, my grade school teachers - which led to me telling him the time we had a class pet (a fish) back in Miami and how I killed it by over-feeding it and was _mortified_ by the fact so I put in a toy fish that moved once in water... that was not even close to looking like our other fish. He laughed at that, louder than I was used to - bell-like echoes bouncing back to us from the empty woods.

The hike took us most of the morning, but he never showed any sign of impatience at our human speed, that I was quite fond of. The forest spread out around us in a boundless labyrinth of beautiful trees that haven't been cut down and I began to be nervous that we would never find our way out again. Not that I would truly care, if I died in these woods I'd take it any day, to be surrounded by the green and sounds of nature. He was perfectly at ease, comfortable in the green maze, never seeming to feel any doubt about our direction. But then again, he's probably done this a hundred times.

After several hours of walking, the light that filtered through the canopy transformed, the murky olive tone shifting to a brighter jade. The day had finally turned sunny, just as he'd foretold. For the first time since we'd entered the woods, I felt a thrill of excitement - which quickly turned to impatience.

"Are we there yet?" I teased, pretending to scowl. I began to bounce in his grip, trying to get a look over his large tuft of hair.

"Nearly." He smiled at the change in my mood. "Do you see the brightness ahead?"

I peered into the thick forest around his neck. "Um, should I?"

He smirked. "Maybe it's a bit soon for your eyes."

"Time to visit the optometrist," I jest, a giggle blubbering around my lips.

But then, after another hundred yards or so, I could definitely see a light spilling from the trees ahead, a glow that was yellow instead of green. I slipped from Edwards grip and began to walk faster than him towards the light. He laughed and it became committed to my memory as I pushed the branches that blocked my way from the yellow light of the sun from me.

I reached the edge of the pool of light and stepped through the last wall of ferns into the loveliest place I had ever seen. The meadow that we had trekked to was small, perfectly round, and filled with wildflowers - violet, yellow, and soft white - was that lilac?

Somewhere nearby, I could hear the running water of a stream. The sun was almost perfectly overhead, filling the circle with sunshine. I walked slowly, awestruck, through the soft grass, swaying flowers, and warm, gilded air. I halfway turned, wanting to share this with him, but he wasn't behind me where I thought he'd be. I spun around, searching for him with sudden alarm. Had he left me?

After my moment of panic, I had finally spotted him, still under the dense shade of the canopy at the edge of the hollow, watching me with cautious eyes. Only then did I remember what the beauty of the meadow had driven from my mind - the enigma of Edward; what happens when he comes in contact with the sun, which he'd promised to illustrate for me today.

I took a step toward him, my eyes alight with curiosity. His eyes were wary, reluctant. I smiled encouragingly and beckoned to him with my hand, taking another step to him. He held up a hand in warning, and I hesitated, the smile I wore slipping just the tiniest bit.

Edward seemed to take a deep breath, and then he stepped out into the bright glow of the midday sun.


	15. Confessions of the Devil

Diamonds. His skin looked like millions of brightly polished diamonds embedded into his skin. My previously faltering steps picked up, slowly. Edward's lips moved so fast that I thought they were trembling, but when I asked he said he was singing to himself, low enough to where I couldn't hear. I stood in front of him now taking his much to large hand and lifting it, bringing it to my face to see the skin's sparkling pigmentation better.

There was only the tiniest bit of flush to his skin due to the hunting activities he partook in the day before but his skin was still a marble white. When his hand became closer to my face, it went to my cheek, the chilled fingers feeling on my slightly sweat stricken skin were welcomed and I pushed into the hand, relishing in his presence.

"I don't scare you?" Edward asked playfully. But he was truly curious about my answer, that I could tell.

"No more than usual," I answer stepping just a bit forward. He smiled wider now, his smile nearly blinding me. My hand moved across his forearm, tracing the contours of the limb. Trying to see the facets in his limbs that allowed him to blaze the way he does. I finally made my way up the entirety of his arm, my hand now resting on his shoulder. If I thought our earlier position was in any way intimate, it compared nothing to now. My heart rate increased tenfold and the arm that was at his side moved gently to my waist.

"Don't move," Edward implored, moving closer to my face. My breath caught in my throat as his face moved closer and closer to my own. My eyes closed on their own accord and I could feel his lips a hair's breadth away. "What are you thinking?" he whispers, forehead coming in contact mine.

I swallowed nervously, speaking even lower than him. "Wondering how someone could worm their way into my heart so easily... that I wish I wasn't afraid."

"I don't want you to be afraid," Edward murmurs, shaking his head just the tiniest bit. Even though he didn't say it, I could hear it, what he wanted to say. That I have nothing to be afraid of, that there was nothing to fear. But he knew it'd be a lie, at least in his eyes.

"Not in the way you think," I whisper our noses touching. Before I could open my eyes to see his reaction I felt the wind through my hair and suddenly I was kneeling, Edward sitting where he once was standing. With my eyes open I could take in every detail that was him.

"What are you afraid of then?" His voice sounded scared, nearly to a tremble.

I couldn't answer. I couldn't. There was no possible way I could voice how I was afraid he'd leave, that I would be picking up remnants of the past for the rest of my days once he leaves, that I've become so attached to his person that it would physically hurt if he was away from me.

He didn't think my silence meant what I had wanted it too. The smile he once wore, turned mocking. It made my heart squeeze and my eyes wetten just the tiniest bit.

"I'm the world's best predator, aren't I? Everything about me invites you in - my voice, my face, even my smell. As if I need any of that!" Unexpectedly, he was on his feet, bounding away, instantly out of sight, only to appear beneath the same tree as before, having circled the meadow in half a second. The legends didn't give their speed enough credit.

"As if you could outrun me," he laughed bitterly.

He reached up with one hand and, with a deafening crack, effortlessly ripped a two-foot-thick branch from the trunk of the spruce. He balanced it in that hand for a moment, and then threw it with blinding speed, shattering it against another huge tree, which shook and trembled at the blow. The sound echoed throughout the small haven, the shattering pieces falling to the ground.

And he was in front of me again, standing two feet away, still as a stone.

"As if you could fight me off," he said gently.

I sat without moving, more frightened of him than I had ever been. I'd never seen him so completely freed of that carefully cultivated facade he wore on a daily basis. He'd never seemed less human than that moment. Face ashen, eyes wide, I sat like a bird locked in the eyes of a snake. His birdie... His lovely eyes seem to glow with rash excitement. Then, as the seconds passed, they dimmed. His expression slowly folded into a mask of shame, angry at himself.

"Don't be afraid," he murmured, his velvet voice unintentionally seductive. "I promise..." He hesitated. "I swear not to hurt you." He seemed more concerned with convincing himself than me. "Don't be afraid," he whispered again as he stepped closer, with exaggerated slowness. He sat sinuously, with deliberately unhurried movements, till our faces were on the same level, just a foot apart. "Please forgive me," he said formally. "I can control myself. You caught me off guard. But I'm on my best behavior now."

After another moment of silence, I spoke. "You sure you've been tested for bipolar disorder?" He laughs at this and his hands open and close in his lap, as if he wanted to move them but decided last second not to. I move my legs to sit criss-cross, trying to sit up as straight as possible now. I took his hands from his thighs and gripped them as tight as I possibly could. His hands enveloped mine, making me feel smaller than ever. "I... I don't want to say it, what I'm afraid of." His face dropped considerably but I released one of my hands from him to put on his porcelain white cheek. "But I will... because you need to know that, I'm afraid. To lose you. For you to leave me. That I want to be with you, so much it's stupid."

He chuckled and I brushed my thumb over his cheekbone. "That is something to be afraid of, yes." His hand eventually moved to where mine was placed on his cheek, relishing in the contact. "But I'm too much of a selfish creature to leave you, especially when I should." His lips made contact with my hand, sending electric currents up my arm and down my spine.

"Is it bad to say I'm glad about that?"

"A bit yes," he whispers. "It took everything I had not to jump up in the middle of that class full of children and -" He stopped abruptly, looking away. "When you walked past me, when I first saw you, I could have ruined everything Carlisle has built for us, right then and there." He paused, scowling at the trees. He glanced at me from under his lashes grimly, both of us remembering. "You must have thought I was possessed."

"More like you were ignorant. And rude. No social cues," I try to lighten the mood, it makes him crack a smile so I achieved what I wanted. "I thought you were staring because of my legs, most people were. But not in the same manner you were."

"To me, it was like you were some kind of demon, summoned straight from my own personal hell to ruin me. The second I saw you, I wanted to make sure you were never from my sight. That you were safe, I thought it would make me deranged that first day. In that one hour, I thought of a hundred different ways to lure you from the room with me, to get you alone and take you wherever I wanted too. And I fought them each back, thinking of my family, what I could do to them. Of how you would feel. I had to run out, to get away before I could speak the words that would make you follow..."

"I'd have hit you with my crutch if we're going to be honest." This gets him to belt out in laughter.

"I can see you doing that, yes." He took another deep breath, the topaz eyes looking into mine, undoubtedly trying to decipher how I truly felt of his confessions. "It was unquestionably a complication that I couldn't simply read your thoughts to know what your reaction was to me. I wasn't used to having to go to such circuitous measures, listening to your words in Lauren or Jessica's mind... her mind isn't very original, and it was annoying to have to stoop to that. Angela was always thinking of the good in you, never deciphering words unlike the two of them. And then I couldn't know if you really meant what you said. It was all extremely irritating." He frowned at the memory.

"I wanted you to forget my behavior from those first few days, if possible, so I tried to talk with you like I would with any other person. I was eager actually, hoping to decipher some of your thoughts. And the idea of being near you sent me into a form of euphoria. But you were too interesting, I found myself caught up in your expressions... and every now and then you would stir the air with your hand or your hair, and it would cause something in me to tense. To want to make sure that no one could hurt you, nothing can get to you. That whoever made you flinch when someone hugs you, so your body would never be in pain again, whatever it took.

"Of course, then you were nearly crushed to death in front of my eyes. Later I thought of a perfectly good excuse for why I acted at that moment - because if I hadn't saved you, if your blood had been spilled there in front of Jasper, he wouldn't have been able to hold back from taking your life.

But I don't think I could have stopped myself from exposing us for what we are, by killing him in that instant if he were to do that. He's the newest to our diet and has a hard time with it all still. But I only thought of that excuse later. At the time, all I could think was, 'Not her.'"

"And then in the hospital... you told me you didn't... shouldn't be near me. That I should leave you alone," I softly said, following the chain of events he talked about. His face turned into one of regret, of sorrow at my words.

"I was just the slightest bit appalled, that I had put my family in danger. But it didn't compare to the ecstasy knowing you were safe and in my arms in that moment." He chuckled darkly. "When the paramedics told me I couldn't join you in the ambulance, I just about snapped their neck. I didn't want to be away from you. So when I told Carlisle how I felt, how I wanted you to be safe at all costs. He understood, he felt similarly with Esme but what I had was... something far more than that. Something that bordered on obsession."

He watched my face, looking for any sign to stop, but I kept my face as passive as possible, refusing to show weakness. "And when you covered for me with Carlisle and your father, before I could even reach you... I was amazed. And when you kept your word to all who asked you about the accident, well. It only put my confidence in you higher."

"Glad I can reach your expectations."

"You exceed them." Both of his hands have made their way to my face, holding it as if it was glass. "Gwendolyn," he pronounced my full name expertly, but slowly to let me know he was saying this in all seriousness. "If I were to ever hurt you, I'd never be able to live with myself. Just the thought of you, pale, your heart not beating, your face never turning crimson, it would ruin me. _You've_ ruined me. The thought alone is unendurable." His face came closer, and the intimacy we had a moment before came back. "You're the most important thing to me. Ever."

My lips became molded to the Cold One, and I leaned into it, feeling myself deepen the kiss just like the hole I was digging myself into. My hands slid over his biceps and over his shoulders before interlocking behind his neck, my body flush against his own. When we pulled away I was nearly gasping for air. "So..." I started to talk. "The lion fell in love with the lamb?"

"What an idiotic lamb," Edward whispered against my lips.

"What a sick, masochistic lion," I whispered back. His face moved from my own and deviled its way to the base of my neck, nuzzling me like a child would with their mother.

"I wish," he whispered, "I wish you could feel the... complexity... the confusion... I feel. That way you could understand."

He raised his hand to my hair, burying his face deeper into it.

"Tell me," I breathed.

"I don't think I can. I've told you, on the one hand, the hunger - the thirst - that, deplorable creature that I am, I feel for you just the slightest bit. And I think you can understand that, to an extent. Though" - he moved from my neck to show me his half-smile - "as you are not addicted to any illegal substances, you probably can't empathize completely.

"But..." His fingers touched my lips lightly, making me shiver again. "There are other pangs of hunger. Hunger I don't even understand, that are foreign to me."

"I think I can understand just a bit more than you think," I tease with a small smile. The smile slips when I ask my question. "What are you thinking?"

He chuckles. "I thinking about how I feel so human, I'm not used to it. Is it always like this?"

I give the answer with a shake of my head. "Not in my experience, no. It's the first time I've ever felt like this." I laid my head on his chest, hearing nothing but his breath, his heart had stopped beating long ago. "I don't know, how to do anything like this. There are only a few people in my life who I can trust implicitly. My mind... my body, have been scarred. Beyond repair."

A kiss to the top of my head, just the tiniest bit warm because of the sun. "You're not broken. You're just hurting, and one day... you'll be better. And you'll go on with your life, without a single thought to the man and woman who did this to you."

"Edward?" I say in a quiet voice. He hums in acknowledgment. "I know monsters. Lori and William? They're monsters. True ones. You, on the other hand, have made me feel safer and better about myself than I have in years. So promise me, if you'll promise me anything, that you won't call yourself a monster. And that one day, you can see the good in your heart just like I see it."

Instead of being mad at me or telling me I don't know, he tightens his arms around me, only leaving enough room for my ribcage to expand in order to take in the air I need. "I promise." I move my face so it's staring up at him, his eyes filled with such a strong emotion. "We should take you home, Chief Swan will want to see you."

"You can call him, Charlie, you know?"

"I'd rather not," he laughs under his breath. "Now, come here." I move from the ground and into his arms like one would a bride. "If you're alright with it, I want to show you how I travel through the forest. We'll get to your truck much faster."

"Going to turn into a bat?"

He laughs some-what mockingly. "Like I haven't heard that one before."

"Not one of my most original jokes, that's for sure."

He nods just the tiniest bit. "Now, let me show you, little coward." I rolled my eyes and huddled closer to his warmer body. "Keep your head tucked in, I don't want you to get whiplash."

"Whiplash?" Is all I can say before we're speeding. I know Edward can go fast, I've seen it. But I never thought it'd be like this. The trees passed us in a blur, the wind blowing through my hair. I feel as if this was what a rollercoaster felt like, times ten. The run lasted at least three minutes before I saw the orange of my truck, the wind ceasing around us. "Jesus Christ," I breathe out. I'm pulling myself up to look into Edward's eyes.

"Exhilarating, isn't it?" His voice portraying how happy he was, whether it was from being able to show this other side of himself to me or to just be able to run like that, I wasn't sure.

"You're my new mode of transportation." I slip from his arms with a laugh and slight stumble. Edward's hand grips my elbow to keep my steady the other on my hip. "I'm good, I'm good."

"You're white as a ghost," he describes before laughing out. "Ha! No, you're as white as me!"

"Just the tiniest bit dizzy," I say, my feet betraying my brain who wants full control of its body. "I should have closed my eyes, at least a little bit."

"Remember that next time."

I giggle. "Next time," I continue to giggle. "Oh, I can't wait." His mood copied mine, radiantly happy.

"I was thinking while running..." He started to muse.

"About not hitting the trees? Because I was scared about that a few times back there." He shakes his head and helps me sit down, coming to sit down next to me.

"Silly little Birdie." My smile just gets wider as I bump my shoulder against his own. "Running is second nature to me, I don't have to think about it."

"Lucky," I jokingly groan leaning my head onto his broad shoulder, the scent of maple syrup pungent.

"Gwen?" I made a noise of acknowledgment. "Can I kiss you again?" I lean away from his shoulder to get a trace of his reaction, to figure out what he was thinking, despite not having the same ability.

"Yes," I answer. My hand goes to his neck, once he allowed himself to be pulled by the puny human strength I have his lips connected to mine once more, this time in complete sync with each other, as if in a delicate dance. Edward tilted my head just the tiniest bit and nibbled on my bottom lip, causing me to gasp at the movement. I moved closer to him, recreating the scene from the meadow of my body flush against his. Before I can comprehend my movements, I'm straddling the vampire, my face higher than his as I sat back on his legs. Edward pulled away pretty quick and if I thought I was breathing heavily for air before, it compared nothing to this.

"I... I'm sorry," I breathe out, still trying to catch my breath.

"No, you're just human, it's natural." I nod and start to move, now becoming easily embarrassed and face flushing. "You don't have to move, it's alright."

"If you're in pain then I'll move," I tell him, going to stand.

"No, it's tolerable. Nothing major, I just... need to calm down a bit." I still go to stand despite his protests, but his hands lock me quickly in place, refusing to let me move. I watched his face in rapture, seeing it scrunch up and his deep breaths before his eyes reopened showing the gentle nature I know he is capable of. "There." He gave an impish grin.

"You good now?"

"Yeah. I'm stronger than I had thought," he softly speaks. "It's nice to know."

"Well, thanks for the kiss...es." I shy away, becoming more interested in my shirt than before.

"I should be thanking you, it was more than I could hope for." He pulls a strand of my hair and tucks it behind my hair. I still felt a bit dizzy so when I stood up I wobbled, Edward's arms coming around my waist to pull me against him. "You still dizzy from the run? Or was it my kissing expertise?" He laughed and I couldn't help but realize that he seemed to act so natural now compared the other times I've been with him. With everything in the air between us, how we feel known to the other, it was like a weight lifted off of his shoulders.

"A little bit of both, mostly the latter," I confess which earns another round of joyous laughter.

"You should let me drive."

"Yeah not happening," I tell him, hitting his pectoral playfully. "I can't take it, and neither will my truck. I'm driving." I slither out of Edward's arms and start for the car, only to wobble and trip over my foot. I thought I'd have hit the pavement but the hands-on upper arms kept me from doing so.

"Give me _some,_ trust Birdie. Besides, friends don't let friends drive drunk." I raise my eyebrows and fished into the pockets of my jeans, thumbing the keys I carried.

"Drunk?" I asked, exasperated.

"You're becoming intoxicated by my presence." I scoff and roll my eyes, moving to the driver's side once more but arms tangled themselves around my chest, a chin pressing into my collarbone. "I've kept you alive this long, I'm not going to let you die by getting behind the wheel."

"Okay, now you're just being an asshole," I reply, a half smile pulling at my lips. I dig the key from my pocket and put it into his waiting palm. "Just be careful, Jenny's a senior citizen and can't handle your overabundance to speeding."

"I promise, Jenny will not come into harm under my care." I start my journey to the passenger side and before I could even get in, Edward was starting the ignition and letting the engine roaring to life. I buckle up and hope for the best, that we won't be ruining the tank that is my car.

The Cold One turns out to be able to drive really well when he's doing the _actual_ speed limit. He didn't keep his eyes on the road, which I chided on several times, but was looking at me, the wheels not moving a centimeter to the yellow or white line, perfectly straight. He seemed to do this with little to no effort at all.

I started playing with the radio, looking for a somewhat good station to listen too. I finally came upon an oldies station, the music instantly alerting me to Ray Charles hit _What'd I Say._ My body begins to twist and turn with the music, Edward found this amusing.

"You like fifties music?" He asks, pointing at the radio.

"I thought Charles was most prominent in the sixties?" I retorted, a little baffled if I had this information wrong.

"He was but this song wasn't. He released it in 1959, in July. Sadly, most people only remember Elvis' cover of the song." I groaned, my head hitting the headpiece of the seat.

"That sucks," I sulk, crossing my arms. "Elvis gets all the credit."

"How the world goes round." The truck starts going around a turn, a bit to fast for me but I didn't say anything. "This was one of the last good songs of the fifties, the sixties were alright but couldn't compare. But the seventies! Ugh!" He groaned, adding a shudder for dramatic effect. "The eighties were just bearable, but only just."

I thought about something, just briefly. "I have a question."

"As one does."

"Ha, ha, very funny. But I was wondering, is there any others like your family? That only drink animal blood?" I inquired. "Or is your family the only one?"

"There's a family like ours, up in Alaska," he begins to answer. "We lived together for a time, but there were so many of us, we became too noticeable. Those of us who live this lifestyle tend to band together."

"Is there any more? Or is that it?"

"Nomads, for the most part. We've all lived that way for a time like I told you." I gave him a pointed look, silently reminding him of the promise he had just made back in the meadow. "It gets tedious, like anything else. We run across other now and again, because we tend to stick to the north."

"What about the rest of your family?"

"Well, you know how Carlisle found me. Next was Esme, she fell off a cliff and went straight to the morgue instead of taking her to get treatment. Her heart was still beating, weak but beating. So, Carlisle acted, more out of loneliness than anything. I was gone at the time."

"Do you have to be dying to turn?" I ask in a soft voice. He shakes his head.

"No, but it's the only way Carlisle will change a person. He would never do it if there was another choice. It's difficult to turn someone in the first place, not many of us have the restraint necessary to accomplish it. But Carlisle has always been the most human, most compassionate of us. I don't think you could find an equal to him throughout all of history." His voice made sure I knew how high he held the patriarch of his family in such esteem. He continued explaining his family.

"Carlisle brought Rosalie to our family next. I didn't realize until much later that he was hoping she would be to me what Esme was to him - he was careful with his thoughts around me." He rolled his eyes. "But she was never more than a sister. It was only two years later that she found Emmett. She was hunting - we were in Appalachia at the time - and found a bear about to finish him off. She carried him back to Carlisle, more than a hundred miles, afraid she wouldn't be able to do it herself." He threw a pointed glance in my direction, lightly squeezing our hands.

I gasped, just the tiniest bit of the revelation. "That's why Emmett likes bears the most!" He laughed lightly at my sudden outburst.

"That's what you get out of it?" He continues to laugh, the truck going around a wide bend.

"Well, that and she did make it, back to Doctor Carlisle that is."

"Yes," he murmured. "She saw something in his face that made her strong enough. And they've been together ever since. Sometimes they live separately from us, as a married couple. But the younger we pretend to be, the longer we can stay in any given place. Forks seemed perfect, so we all enrolled in high school." He laughed. "I suppose we'll have to go to their wedding in a few years, again."

"Are there a lot of your kind?" I was surprised. How many of them could walk among us undetected?

"No, not many. But most won't settle in any one place. Only those like us, who've given up hunting you people" - a sly glance in my direction - "can live together with humans for any length of time. Like I said, we've only found one other family and a few nomads."

We start to pull up into my driveway, Dad not home yet. I undo my seatbelt and the door's already open before I can even make a move to open it. "A gentleman as always," I murmur getting closer to him as he closes the door he had just opened.

"Always for you," he smiles, kissing my forehead. He turns and starts for the door, opening it. I blanch a bit, standing in the grass and looking at him surprised.

"Was the door unlocked? I swore I locked it." I start moving my feet again, going up the cement stairs and into the doorway, passing Edward.

"It was locked, I just used the key."

"The one under the eave?" I didn't think I used that with him. "How do you know about it?"

"I saw you use it when I dropped you off after you got sick," he chuckled at the memory. "The girl who gets sick by blood, dating the vampire that drinks it," he jokes. I roll my eyes and kick off my shoes at the door. I turn the porch light on for Dad, looking at the road and noticing the lack of a Prius on the curb.

"Did someone pick up your car?" I ask, moving to the kitchen to begin dinner.

"Yeah, Jasper did, I asked him to before I left." I nod as if it was a normal thing (it might be) and get some ingredients out for some steak and the fiddle heads that had already been cleaned. I decided that we'd eat the rest of them, a nice hearty meal after yesterday's events. "What're you making?" he asks, now leaning on the counter, a welcomed sight.

"Steak and fiddle heads. Dad's favorite. He had a rough night yesterday."

"Why?"

I bluntly told him. "His friend, Waylon, a guy he goes... used to go fishing with died last night. They're saying an animal attack but I overheard them thinking it's a man last night. Murder."

"Not a man," Edward breathes out. I look up from my searching through the knife drawer. "Like I told you... there's nomads. A small coven, three of them. They've been going around the area for awhile now."

"Jesus," I sigh. "Just what we need now, huh?" I shake my head. "It's... whatever. I just." I rubbed my eyes with my thumb and index finger.

"See what I mean by danger?"

"Edward," I warned. "Don't. You're different. You all are." He sighs out, not willing to fight. I change the subject so it won't be so heated. "So, what have you been doing this past week? At night. I don't see you around much anymore."

"I'm here," he smirks. My eyebrows try to come together while I season the steaks and put a pan with oil on the stove.

"I haven't seen you..."

"You were asleep once I am, been that way for awhile."

"Awhile?" I ask incredulously. "How long have you been spying on me?"

He doesn't retort with an answer. "What else is there to do at night?"

I narrow my eyes just a bit more once I put the first steak into the pan. I lean on the counter by my hip and stare the cold one down. "How often then?"

"Hmm?" Trying to play innocent, aren't you?

"How often were you here?"

He at least has the decency to look sheepish. "About... every night since you moved into Forks." My eyebrows go into my hairline at this. Every night? I pressed the steak down, hearing it sizzle from the oil and heat. He continues to explain. "I had to make sure nothing happened to you. I always have that sinking feeling that something will put you in danger, even though you're completely safe. Besides... it's entertaining. Did you know you talk in your sleep?"

My eyes widen and I spin around to look at him, in a complete haze of embarrassment. I was ready to let the floor open and allow me to fall straight through into the pits of hell. "Oh. My god. You can hear that from outside?!"

He pointed to his ear. "Enhanced hearing. I can hear things miles away."

"Miles?" He nods and I shake my head. Miles? He can hear for _miles._ "That's how you could hear me in class." He makes an approving sound from the back of his throat and I take a deep inhale, turning my attention back to the steak. "What did you hear me say in my sleep?" I grumbled.

"Hm, a few things. Sometimes you'll have nightmares, saying _their_ names," he sneered at the thought of the two. "You worry about your dad a lot, he's a strong influence on your life, sometimes you'll just mumble nonsense. You once said 'Whiskey sounds like something you would feed cats, who have whiskers.'"

"Oh shit." His laughter echoes into the room. "What else did I say?" I huff, putting my head in my hands to hide from the embarrassment.

"Well you once said that you had to find your ostrich, that you needed a giant omelet." I groaned and hit my head on the counter. "And you do say one thing frequently... My name." I shot up at this and turned to him, my index finger bouncing off his hard chest.

"I do not!"

"But you do," he argued. He pulled me into his chest putting his arms around my waist.

"You say I say your name frequently...?"

"What do _you_ consider frequent?" I groaned again and pushed my face farther into his white button up. "Don't be self conscious, if I could dream I have no doubt that it would be about you. And I am not ashamed about it." Then the sound of tires rolling on pavement became more prominent, easily heard through the thin walls. "Well, I'm going to let you guys have some father-daughter bonding time." And he was gone in the same breath.

"Edward!" I hissed, knowing he probably either went to my room or left entirely. All I was given was a husky chuckle, telling me he hadn't left just yet.

"Gwen?" The door opened and the voice echoed out. I made a noise of recognition and the heavy footsteps were making there way to the kitchen. "How was your date?"

"Good," I answered. "We went on a hike and talked." I could feel the look he was giving me as if there was more. "And it was _just_ talking. Nothing else. Don't worry."

"Alright. What's for dinner?"

"Steak and steamed fiddleheads," I answer. He makes a pleased groan, his favorite meal. "So, did you catch anything?"

"The fish were biting like crazy. Billy's getting them prepped to be froze." I nod, flipping his steak over. "So, what're you going to ask me?" I'm taken aback by the question and turn to him, wondering what he meant. "You're making me steak and fiddle heads, Gwen. You're up to something."

"I'm not going to ask for anything," I tell him. "After yesterday, I thought you could use some good food." I feel him come up behind me and kiss my forehead.

"Thank you, sweetie. Always to good for me." He pats my shoulder before getting two plates out and setting them on the table. I put his steak down first and then return to the stove, putting mine on. "Fiddleheads done?"

"Just about," I answer, moving the lid from the boiling water that sat under the netting that held the ferns. I took it out and put it on Dad's plate. "You can have the rest of them, I'm good."

"Thanks, kiddo." I hear him start to munch down and eat his food with vigor. I keep my eyes on the meat in the pan, the oil still bubbling just a bit. Once I think it's cooked enough do I set it on my plate and put some water in the pan to let it soak just a bit. "I'll do the dishes, you doing anything else for the day?"

"No, I'm not a 'going out on a Saturday Night' type of girl." He chuckles and nods, finishing the last of his steak with a chomp and moves to the sink.

I nearly scarf my food down trying to get out of the kitchen, because Edward may just be in my room again and the last thing I need is him going through my stuff. Would he go through my belongings? He did practically stalk me outside of my home.

I finish the last bite of swallowing it down before taking a few water bottles out of the fridge. "I'm heading to bed, I'll see you in the morning."

"Night, Gwen! Love ya."

"Love you too," I call back from the bottom of the stairs, to where he's washing the dishes and pans that had been used today. I slowly made my way up the stairs, trying to seem as tired as possible. Emotionally I was tired, that was true. But physically? I felt like I was bursting at the seams.


	16. Silences that Deafen

Opening my bedroom door, I look around not seeing the man I had come to expect anywhere in the room. "I swear to god, Edward if you scare me again," I mumbled under my breath, going for my mini fridge to copious water bottles from my arms into the storage. After I'm doing that, I go to the window, opening it and leaning out. "Edward?" I feel like an idiot doing this. Maybe I am an idiot. Probably. It's almost certain at this point.

"Yes?" a voice calls from behind me. I turn with my hand to my throat, trying to suppress the squeal of surprise. And there he was, laying on my bed with his feet hanging off the end and hands behind his head. I take a deep breath before grabbing the pillow he wasn't lying on.

And smacked him with it.

"You! Ass! I told you! Not! To! Scare me! Again!" I emphasized every word with a hit. Edward was a good sport and tried to protect his face, a human reaction. "Now, I'm going to shower, and you." I point to him before picking up my pajamas from the night before. "Are going to stay right where you are."

"Yes, ma'am." He nods and makes a show of himself becoming a statue, sitting straight up and feet planted on the floor. I rolled my eyes and slipped out of the bedroom, hearing the TV downstairs - the news, I realize. I take a deep breath and head to the bathroom. I stripped out of my clothes and stepped into the shower, wetting down my hair and letting it soak. The hot water calmed my muscles and during this time, I decided to massage my legs thoroughly, the heat of the water letting them relax more. I poured the shampoo into my palm and massaged it in my scalp, letting it lather all up before deciding to shave just a bit on my legs and underarms. After I was done doing that I dried myself off and went to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth as thorough as possible, letting the mint tasting toothpaste sit on my tongue. Wrapping my hair in the towel and putting on my green t-shirt and sweatpants did I go downstairs now.

I walked down the stairs and looked into the living room, where Dad sat with a can of beer, watching the news and Waylon's face showing on the screen. _'Animal Attack or Murder?'_ it read in big bold letters. I moved to the couch standing behind Dad. I put my hands on his shoulders, showing my attempt of comforting him.

"Stop beating yourself up," I whisper into the dark room, only the TV illuminating the walls and ourselves.

"He was supposed to be there today," he speaks, just as soft as me. "Fishing with us. I miss him, Gwen." I bent over the couch to kiss his cheek, resting my face next to his.

"He wouldn't want you to act like this, everything will be okay. Alright?"

"Alright. You heading to bed now?" I nodded. "Okay, good night, sleep tight."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite," I respond. Our usual and typical mantra.

"And don't forget to take your medication!" I mockingly groan at the reminder.

"Fine!" I tried to sound like your typical teenager, going up the steps to the medicine closet. Grabbing my typical meds I took them in hand and moved to the bedroom while opening the door I popped them into my mouth. Edward still sat there still as a statue. Adonis, I heard some senior compare him to. I had to agree with them wholeheartedly. I bent at the waist to grab the water bottle I had left in there out and took a large swig, washing the pills down.

I looked down at Edward who was smirking just the slightest bit. "You look nice." I looked down to what I was wearing, the green shirt had some holes in it from overuse - it was Dad's before mine. And my sweats bunched at my ankles, making them look more like MC Hammer pants. I shake my head in disbelief. "You do, it suits you." I sit on my bed, laying against the headboard and taking small sips from the plastic bottle. I put one of my legs up, curling it inwards to my body.

"Thank you," I skeptically reply. "You seem a lot more relaxed," I speculate.

"Mind over matter." Edward started moving to sit next to me against the headboard, watching me in rapture, his gold eyes following my every move. I lean over to the lamp and turn it off, to shroud the room in the darkness beside the street lamps from outside.

"Mind over matter?" I echoed him. "What do you..." My sentence trailed off as fingertips trailed over my collarbone in the lightest of touches, his other arm wrapping around my shoulder. His eyes trained on where his appendages left behind goosebumps to the abnormal coolness.

"What were you saying?" he muses, his voice low and unnaturally sultry. I move my eyes from his fingers and found him looking at me, his eyes held something soft, the softest look I've ever seen.

"Before you distracted me," I breathe out. "I was asking, what do you mean by 'mind over matter'?"

He laughed into my neck, his breath causing more goosebumps to rise up. "Like I said, mind over matter." His fingers moved from my collar bone to laying his hand at the base of my neck, his lips finding purchase under my ear.

"You're driving me crazy, you know that?" I breathe out once more, feeling like a lovesick teenager.

"Really?" he mumbles, repeatedly kissing the side of my neck and face, and I can feel the smile he wears in smugness. My hand reaches up and grips his shirt with a vice grip, hoping that it wouldn't rip under my nails.

"Want a round of applause?" I joke, my hand sliding from the torso of his shirt to his shoulder. "Because you're making it really hard to even do that."

His lips leave my neck and at this, I begin to realize our position. My legs have become strewn over his own, but I'm sitting where I had on my own accord. While my left hand was tangled in Edward's shirt the other was holding him behind his neck. His own hand had wandered from the base of my neck to my cheek on the opposite side he had been kissing, the other still around my shoulders. He grinned at me, and I realize he could definitely hear my heart now, and it was pounding in anticipation.

"Just pleasantly surprised," he clarifies. "In the last, oh, hundred years or so," his voice held the teasing tone I've come to smile at. "I never imagined anything like this. I never _believed_ I'd find someone I would want to be with... in any other way than my brothers and sisters. And then to find out, even though it's all so new to me, that I'd find I'm good at it... at being with you. Well, it brings me more happiness than you can imagine."

"Well, I'm glad you're happy because I am incredibly flustered." His smirk only broadens and his lips come into contact at the juncture where my neck meets my shoulder.

"You know," he says quietly. "I wasn't sure if I was strong enough today..." He took the hand that was at the nape of his neck to his face, bringing it closer to him. "To not just take you, and run away. Never look back." My hand cradled his cheek, my thumb moving back and forth. "And while it was a possibility that I had... might have overcome the strength I put in front of me." His nose breathed in my scent, at my wrist. "I was... susceptible. Until I made up my mind that I was strong enough. That there was no possibility, of me taking you away. I don't think I could if I wanted to anymore. Just due to the fact that your approval means so much to me." His words were cautious and careful, unsure what to say. I've never seen him act so... human, before. It proved how far he's come, from either being himself or the fact he's finally putting his feelings into words to someone.

"So, no possibility of me being kidnapped in my sleep?" I tease.

"Mind over matter," he repeated. His smirk turning into a smile, brightening the dim room.

"Wow, that was easy," I said.

His laughter is low and quiet but there. Like a whisper, but still filled with his joy and amusement. His finger came to my nose, tapping it lightly. "Easy for you!" he amended. His smile slipped but stayed, less exuberant as it once was. His face turned serious, the slight smile still playing at his lips. "I'm trying... but if it gets to be too much, then I'll leave. I have that much willpower." I scowled at him, moving just a bit away from his body so he can get the full effect of it. I didn't like talking about him leaving. "But it'll probably be harder if I were to leave, like tomorrow for example. I think it's mostly just the fact of having you near me. Becoming desensitized to it all, if I were to leave I'd have to start over. Not from scratch, I think."

"Don't leave then, I'm fine with you spending the night, you know that."

"That suits me," he replied, his face relaxing into a gentle smile. "Bring on the shackles - I'm your prisoner." But his long hands formed manacles around my wrists as he spoke. He laughed his quiet, musical laugh. He'd laughed more tonight than I'd ever heard in all the time I'd spent with him.

"You're unusually optimistic today, you know that? Most times it's all doom and gloom, but now..." I trailed off, my hands that were entrapped within his own, reach for his wrists, my small fingers not even going completely around them. "Now, you're happy," I say softly, I look from where I held his wrists to his eyes, hoping he could see the adoration and pleasure of his new emotions that have come to surface.

"Isn't it supposed to be like this?" He smiled. "The glory of first love, and all that. It's incredible, isn't it, the difference between reading about something, seeing it in the pictures, and experiencing it?"

"It is," I agreed. "It feels... comfortable. I always thought in real life it would feel more forced, but it seems to come all naturally to me. In books they make it seem like all daisies and rainbows. But that doesn't really happen."

"An example for myself" - his words flowed swiftly now, I had to concentrate to catch it all - "the emotion of jealousy. I've read about it a hundred thousand times, seen actors portray it in a thousand different plays and movies. I believed I understood that one pretty clearly. But it shocked me..." He grimaced. "Do you remember the day that Mike asked you to the dance?"

I nodded, though I remembered that day for a different reason. "The day you started talking to me again after the accident."

"I was surprised by the flare of resentment, almost fury, that I felt - I didn't recognize what it was at first. I was even more aggravated than usual that I couldn't know what you were thinking, why you refused him. Was it simply for your friend's sake? Was there someone else? I knew I had no right to care either way. I tried not to care.

"And then the line started forming," he chuckled. I scowled in the darkness.

"Yeah, thanks for that," I grumbled, earning a small shake and being pulled closer to the cold one.

"I waited, unreasonably anxious to hear what you would say to them, to watch your expressions. I couldn't deny the relief I felt, watching the annoyance on your face when it came to both Austin and Tyler. But I couldn't be sure.

"That was the first night I came here and spent the whole night, not just a few hours. I wrestled all night, while watching you sleep, with the chasm between what I knew was right, moral, ethical, and what I wanted. I knew that if I continued to ignore you as I should, or if I left for a few years, till you were gone, that someday you would say yes to Mike, or someone like him. It made me angry.

"And then," he whispered, "as you were sleeping, you said my name. You spoke so clearly, at first I thought you'd woken. But you rolled over restlessly and mumbled my name once more, and sighed. The feeling that coursed through me then was unnerving, staggering. And I knew I couldn't ignore you any longer." He was silent for a moment, probably listening to the suddenly uneven pounding of my heart.

"For almost ninety years I've walked among my kind, and yours... all the time thinking I was complete in myself, not realizing what I was seeking. And not finding anything, because you weren't alive yet."

"It hardly seems fair," I whispered, my face still resting on his chest, listening to his breath come and go. "I haven't had to wait at all. Why should I get off so easily?"

"You're right," he agreed with amusement. "I should make this harder for you, definitely." He freed one of his hands, released my wrist, only to gather it carefully into his other hand. He stroked my wet hair softly, from the top of my head to my waist. "You only have to risk your lifestyle every second you spend with me, that's surely not much. You only have to turn your back on nature, on humanity... what's that worth?"

"Not as much as you," I retort. "Humanity, it kind of failed me. From birth. There's only a few I would actually miss if I were to leave. Dad for example. He'd probably be the number one factor."

"You don't mean that," he whispers, his tone holding that of ancient grief. I tried pulling back, to look in his face, but his hand locked my wrists in an unbreakable hold.

"What -" I started to ask when his body became alert. I froze, but he suddenly released my hands and disappeared. I narrowly avoided falling on my face.

"Lie down!" he hissed. I couldn't tell where he spoke from in the darkness.

I rolled under my comforter, balling up on my side in the fetal position, the way I usually slept. I heard the door crack open, as Dad peeked in to make sure I was where I was supposed to be. I breathed evenly, snuggling into my pillow for an additional effect.

A long minute passed. I listened, not sure if I'd heard the door close. Then Edward's cool arm was around me, under the covers, his lips at my ear.

"You are a terrible actress - I'd say that career path is out for you."

"Had my hopes set on it too," I muttered. My heart was crashing in my chest.

He hummed a melody I didn't recognize; it sounded like a lullaby. When I turned in his arms and placed my ear against his chest did he only pause. "Should I sing you to sleep?"

"After a day like today, I don't think I could," I lightly laugh.

"You do it all the time," he reminded me.

"Yeah, but today was extra eventful..." I mumbled like a child into his shirt.

"So if you don't want to sleep..." he suggested, ignoring my tone. My breath caught.

"If I don't want to sleep... ?"

He chuckled. "What do you want to do then?"

I couldn't answer at first. "I'm not sure," I finally said. I knew exactly what I wanted to do but I would never voice it, not now. But to feel his lips upon mine once more, to hold the man and have him hold me back. Yeah, I won't tell him that.

"Tell me when you decide." I could feel his cool breath on my neck, feel his nose sliding along my jaw, inhaling.

"I thought I didn't make you thirsty."

"Just because I'm resisting the wine doesn't mean I can't appreciate the bouquet," he whispered. "Your person makes me want to protect you, but your blood does smell very sweet. Like strawberries, real ones, and chocolate," he noted. "It's mouthwatering."

"Yeah, it's an off day when I don't get somebody telling me how edible I smell." He chuckled and then sighed. "I've decided what I want to do," I tell him. "I want to hear more about you. You had your week, now I get _some_ time."

"Ask me anything."

"Alright..." I nod, trying to think of something. "Okay, I got one. If Carlisle turned you, then who turned Carlisle? And who turned that one and so on and so forth?"

"Well, where did you come from? Evolution? Creation? Couldn't we have evolved in the same way as other species, predator and prey? Or, if you don't believe that all this world could have just happened on its own, which is hard for me to accept myself, is it so hard to believe that the same force that created the delicate angelfish with the shark, the baby seal and the killer whale, or the small little bird and the ferocious cat, could create both our kinds together?"

"Did you just compare yourself to a cat?" I ask, my voice starting to falter as sleep _tried_ to claim me.

"Hmm, I was more making you the baby seal and bird, but if that's what you get out of the analogy, then by all means," he laughed, kissing the top of my head. I dug my face into his shirt again, the only soft about his torso. "Are you ready to sleep?" he asked, interrupting the short silence. "Or do you have any more questions?"

"Only a million or two," I teased.

"We have tomorrow, and the next day, and the next..." he reminded me. I smiled, euphoric at the thought of him always being there, someone who wouldn't leave.

"Are you sure you won't vanish in the morning?" I wanted this to be certain. "You are a mythical vampire, after all."

"I won't leave you." His voice had the seal of a promise in it, not moving. And I couldn't help but hold him to that.

"One more, then, tonight..." And I blushed at the thought of my question. The darkness was no help - I'm sure he could feel the sudden warmth under my skin.

"What is it?"

"No, forget it. I changed my mind." I shake my head and pull my blanket up higher on my shoulders. "Good night."

"You can ask me anything, Gwen." His fingers grazed my hair, playing with the damp strands. When I didn't answer, he groaned. "I keep thinking it will get less frustrating, not hearing your thoughts. But it just gets worse and worse."

I smirk and lift my body up, letting it rest against Edward's. I got into a position where my chin was on his pectoral so I could look at him with a smug expression. "I'm glad you can't read my thoughts. It's bad enough that you eavesdrop on my sleep-talking."

"Please?" His voice was so persuasive, so pleading.

I still shook my head. "Welcome to everyone else's world. Where no one can read anyone else's mind."

"If you don't tell me, I'll just assume it's something much worse than it is," he threatened darkly. "Please?" Again, that pleading voice, the _melted chocolate,_ I swear.

"Well," I began, glad that he couldn't see my face as I put it down and laid my cheek against him, staring off at the foot of the bed.

"Yes?"

"You said that Rosalie and Emmett will get married again soon earlier today... Is that... marriage... the same as it is for humans?"

He laughed in earnest now, understanding. "Is that what you're getting at?"

"Well yeah, I don't know what traditions you may have for it, or if it's any different."

"Yes, I suppose it is much the same," he said. "I told you, most of those human desires are there, just hidden behind more powerful desires."

"Oh," was all I could say.

"Was there a purpose behind your curiosity?"

"Well, I did wonder, briefly! Very briefly, mind you. Could... we do that one day? If you wanted too, that is."

He was instantly serious, I could tell by the sudden stillness of his body. I froze, too, reacting automatically to his stillness. I wondered what he was thinking in that moment, wishing for his own power to be my own.

"I don't think that... that... would be possible for us."

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Gotcha, thanks for being, you know... straightforward with it. None of that intercourse... gotcha."

"I want too," he says, with more conviction than I had ever heard. "Please don't think I don't, but that's not what I was thinking of. It's just that you are so soft, so fragile. I have to mind my actions every moment that we're together so that I don't hurt you. I could kill you quite easily, Birdie, simply by accident." His voice had become just a soft murmur. He moved his icy palm to rest it against my cheek. "If I was too hasty... if for one second I wasn't paying enough attention, I could reach out, meaning to touch your face and crush your skull by mistake. You don't realize how incredibly breakable you are. I can never, never afford to lose any kind of control when I'm with you. I'm afraid that, if that little part of my brain forgets to think that I must protect you, that I might kill you, all by accident."

I lay still and think of his words. He could, couldn't he? He could kill me right now and I would never even see it coming. But his willpower is much stronger than I could ever give him credit for. My silence must have caused him to become anxious, because he said, in a small and scared voice. "Am I scaring you?" I lifted myself from his body and look as deep into his eyes as possible. 'The Gateway to the Soul' people say. I hoped he could see all the emotions I felt.

"No." I shook my head, almost mad for him to ask that once again. "I can't be scared of you Edward, not unless you give me just cause. Because, at this point, you have done no physical actions to allegate anything you say to me. Kidnapping me, taking me away, none of that has happened."

"You use big words when you're angry," Edward softly replied, stroking my nearly dry hair now.

"I am when you don't believe in yourself like I believe in you. I believe in you with my whole heart and then some," I grumble, obviously annoyed.

"What brought up the question?" he gently prodes, his fingers working out knots that have come into my hair.

"When you kissed me... earlier today, both times. I... okay this is embarrassing." I wrapped my arm around Edward the other one underneath me and gripping his shirt and tucked my head under his chin.

"I know what you mean, Gwen," he whispers. "But I'm curious now though," he said, voice light now. "Have you ever...?" He trailed off suggestively.

I scoffed, trying to cover up the fact that my face was heating up to the ninth degree. "Edward, I haven't had a boyfriend before, let alone feel for someone like I feel for you. Not even close."

"I know, it's just that I know other people's thoughts. I know lust and love don't always keep the same company."

"It does for me, well, now they do. They didn't really appear till you did. Coincidence, huh?" I tease, then snickered. "You thought I might have...?" I trailed off just like he did, refusing to say the word. "I was in a _hospital,_ Edward. With a sheriff as a father. Nearly everyone has a heart monitor, sometimes Jacob would just say random actor's names to see the monitor jump. Let alone doing _that_ in a hospital bed."

"We seem to have that tidbit in common at the very least, but I'll have you know, teenagers have their ways," Edward acted bemused. "But in addition to your previous question no, I don't see you doing anything... promiscuous." I snickered again. "Your mouth may say sailor but your demeanor when the humor's gone?" he sighed heavily not happy with the revelation, and I tensed, hoping he didn't truly know. "You have more pain under those layers than you let anyone see. You cover your pain with humor, hoping no one will see. That all they'll do is give a nod and move on, not giving you a second glance. I need you to know... that you don't have to be that way with me."

"Edward," I softly speak.

"You don't need too." And the tears fell. I repeated my thanks, completely grateful for his actions and how he feels for me. It was, more than I could ask for.


	17. Pasta Sauce

The dimmed sunlight of yet another cloudy day eventually woke me from my well rested slumber. I was on my side, trying to move deeper into my pillow, still groggy and dazed. Something, a dream trying to be remembered, struggled to break into my consciousness but refused to be thought of. I moaned and rolled onto my other side, hoping more sleep would come.

And then the previous day flooded back into my mind.

"Oh!" I sat up so fast it made my head spin, I could feel my blurry eyes blink as fast as they could to get rid of the goop and bleariness.

"Your hair looks like a birdie's nest... but I like it." His unruffled voice came from the rocking chair in the corner.

"You never stay till morning!" I rejoiced, and without a single thought, threw myself across the room and into his lap. In the instant that my thoughts caught up with my actions, I froze, shocked by my own uncontrolled (and by all means, unbelievable) enthusiasm. I stared up at him, afraid that I had crossed the wrong line, that he would stiffen up and leave. But he laughed instead.

"Of course, " he answered, startled, but seeming pleased by my reaction. His hands rubbed my back and pulled me closer, my legs being brought up so he was to cradle me, letting me put my full weight on him. I let my head fall against his shoulder, breathing in the syrupy scent of his skin.

"I was pretty convinced all of yesterday was a dream," I freely admit.

"You're not that creative," he scoffed at the mere thought.

"Okay, listen, buddy," I held up my index finger to stop him right there. "I am too." He laughed at this and stood up, taking me with him. "OH GOD!" My arms flew to his neck, still not used to his abnormal strength and speed. "Put me down," I command, in the smallest, tiniest, voice imaginable.

"No, I like where you are right now." He winks and I just give a fake groan of annoyance. "Your dad left about an hour ago, call from the station," he explained leaving the bedroom now, I don't even feel his hand leave from my back or my legs but the door is open and I'm being set in front of the bathroom. "I'm going to make you breakfast, anything in particular?"

"Edward, you don't have to make me breakfast," I reply. "I'm completely fine with cereal, which I can make just fine. Now I need human time. You go have... vampire time." I waved him off and he laughed and went back to my bedroom at a normal _human_ pace. I enter the bathroom and began my 'human time', I went to the bathroom first, as that was the most prominent need after last night and then brushed my teeth to get rid of the film that was left over from sleeping. Once I finally look in the mirror, I see what Edward was talking about.

My hair was a complete mess. Edward's joke aside, it did look like a bird's nest. The face in the mirror was practically a stranger - eyes too bright, hectic spots of red across my cheekbones and tear streaks still marking my cheeks after their much needed tears. Once I was done brushing my teeth, I worked to straighten out the tangled chaos that was my hair. I splashed my face with cold water to try and get the tear's tracks off with marginal success.

With a deep breath, I leave the bathroom and head for my bedroom, seeing Edward pick his way through a book I couldn't quite see the cover of, but the paperback was heavily read, as the spine was bent and crinkling, ready to fall apart. "You better not be going through my things," I tell him. His head picks up, not even the tiniest bit surprised.

"Just pursuing your works of Edgar Allen Poe," he tells me with a smile, putting the book down on the desk next to him. My feet finally decide to move and once I'm within arms reach, I'm lifted by the cold one again. Edward's face becomes buried in my wild mane that's called hair. While he's doing this, I realize he's changed clothes and his hair much more tamed than it was last night.

"When'd you leave?" I ask, picking at his new shirt. A light blue button up now, the sleeves rolled up to his midarm. We begin to sway to the unheard music, to Edward's insistence.

"You were deeply asleep; I didn't miss anything." I pulled his face away so I could watch his face, it was happy and undisturbed. His eyes gleamed with humor. "I could hardly leave in the clothes I came in - what would the neighbors think? But I only did so once the talking ended."

I groaned. "What did you hear?" I don't even know what I dreamt last night, so whatever he heard better not be bad.

His gold eyes went from comedic to growing soft. "You said you loved me."

I took a deep breath and nodded. "I wanted to say that when I was awake," I grumbled, looking down. "BUt you already knew that. At least, I hope you did."

"It was nice to hear, just the same," he tells me, setting me on my feet. I kept my arms around his neck, keeping myself as close to him as humanly possible.

"I love you," I said, putting all the emotion he made me feel in my voice as much as I could. There was nothing I wouldn't do for him, it felt like. And, as much as I knew that was dangerous to think of, he accepted me. Flaws and all.

"You are my life now," he answered simply, bringing his forehead to mine, swaying us back and forth to the muted music once more. There was nothing more to say for the moment, all things that needed to _be_ said were already out in the open.

"Breakfast time," he said eventually, casually - to prove, I'm sure, that he remembered all my human frailties. And me being my comedic self, I clutched my throat with both hands and stared at him with wide eyes. Shock crossed his face.

"Kidding!" I snickered, letting my hands fall to my side before balling one up and hitting his abs. It was like hitting a rock... "And you said I couldn't act!"

He frowned in disgust. "That wasn't funny."

"It was hilarious, and you know it." I waved him off and started walking backward, making sure to see his face in order to know I was forgiven for the joke. His eyes held nothing but amusement at this point so I assumed I was excused for my crude joke. I was a step out of the doorway when I felt the familiar cold arms around me. "Two for two!" I comment, laughing. "My legs might be a bit messed up, but I can walk just fine for the most part."

"What if I just like having you in my arms?" he asks, starting down the steps.

"Well, then by all means... continue," I say, humor gone. I was sat upright in my usual chair and the usually dark kitchen seem to light up with happiness as if absorbing my mood. "So what's for breakfast?" I ask jokingly. Edward looked flustered for a second, allowing me time to stand and move past him. "Alright, so-called 'vampire' watch as I hunt for the illustrious cereal. Always escaping my grasp," I start babbling, taking the box of Captain Crunch out and pouring it into a bowl.

Once I finally have my food at the ready, do I eat at the table, Edward's face one of pure amusement. When I asked him why he shook his head and said, "I don't understand how anyone can't see you as your own person."

I shrugged in an answer and finished the mouthful I had. "Can, I uh... get you anything?" If I had learned anything about having guests over, is that you offer them food, I've had that ingrained in me for as long as I can remember.

He rolled his eyes. "Just eat, Birdie."

He was gazing at me, studying my every movement. It made me self-conscious, mostly because I know I took to big of bites, something I may need to work on. I cleared my mouth to speak, to distract him from watching my actions with a careful eye.

"You want to do anything today?" I ask.

"Hmm," he contemplates. I watch him as he carefully devises an answer. "What would you say to meeting my family?" I gulp what's left of the cereal in my mouth and start to stir the leftover bits around. "Are you scared now?" He sounded so hopeful in that sentence.

"Yes," I admitted. There was _no way_ I could lie to him, he'd know in a split second. He smirked and was about to say something, but my small answers tend to be misconstrued. "Technically, I've met your entire family besides Mrs. Cullen. But to formally meet them, well... that's something else. And they are all aware that I know, right? They won't be surprised to see me? I won't cause anyone discomfort with my presence?"

"Oh, they already know everything. They'd taken bets yesterday, you know" - he smiled, but his voice was harsh - "on whether I'd bring you back to your home or kidnap you and go to Asia, though why anyone would bet against Alice, I can't imagine. At any rate, we don't have secrets in the family. It's not really feasible, what with my mind reading and Alice seeing the future and all that."

"Alice can see the _future_?" I asked, taking another spoonful.

He nods. "Alice is one of the more rarer gifts, while I can read minds, she can see the future and anything it may entail. Things change and sometimes the visions do as well. Either way, she's the best asset our family has, and the most annoying little sister to have ever walked the earth."

I breathed out a laugh. "Did she see me at all?" I joked, taking another scoop of milk and and cereal.

He nods. "Yes, though it was a bit unconventional. She kept seeing random things with you, before you were in Forks, small things like walking between two bars with a man and sitting by a fountain, by yourself with a book." I smile at the memories that popped up.

"The first one is my physical therapy sessions, probably after a surgery that didn't go right. The second one is what I did in the early hours of the morning before anyone else was up. It was the perfect spot to watch the sunrise between the huge buildings."

"Well, I think I may know someplace better," Edward boasted. "I'll take you there one day." He looks tempted to speak more, but I refrain from interjecting as he finds his words. "She also saw us."

"Us?" I question, bringing the bowl to my lips.

Edward nods, a small smile on his lips. "Us, it was one of the first ones she saw back in 1989."

I felt my throat close up the tiniest bit, watching Edward's movements. It took me a few moments to realize that Edward was watching me in favor. As if I would bolt. If Alice did truly have visions of me, before I was even able to walk! - was I destined to meet Edward? If not now, later in my life? "Anything else I should know of before wandering into the lion's den?" I try to say as nonchalant as possible, easing Edward's posture.

"Jasper does have the ability to feel and manipulate one's emotions. You should at least be warned about that."

"Well, thank you for the heads up." I started to drink the leftover milk in the bowl and Edward gave me a slightly disgusted look.

"Is that any good?"

"Well, it's no bear or mountain lion, but it tastes good to a human." He chuckles.

"So is that a yes to meeting the family? Formally, and not just in passing?" I got up to put my bowl in the sink, washing it out so no leftover residue would cling to it when I washed the dish tonight.

"I don't know... I'm just, nervous." I leaned my back on the counter, trying to calm my anxiety.

"Your father already knows I'm your boyfriend," Edward replies, going from sitting to standing and making his way over to me.

"Yeah, not so much emphasis on the boy," I joked.

"Well, I am just over a hundred now," he smirks back. His arms cage me between his chest and the vinyl countertop. "And if Chief Swan ever wants to ask my parents why I'm around so much, they know what to say."

"You're going to be around a lot?" I asked, biting my bottom lip.

"As long as you want me," he assured me.

"Then forever," I warn him. "I'll always want you with me."

A single hand raised and touched my cheek, brushing my bottom lip. His expression became unfathomable, and I couldn't truly grasp how strongly he felt yet. Maybe his emotions are stronger than a human's. He took a deep breath and moved away. "Why don't you get dressed - I'll stay right here."

I nodded and brushed my hand on his bicep to get past and went up to my room. Choosing something to wear was a bit difficult. I highly doubted there were any etiquette books detailing how to dress when your vampire lover takes you home to meet his vampire family. But I also wanted to be me, not someone who I think they'd like. But I also wanted to leave a first good impression...

I eventually decide on my nicest casual clothes. I wore a white long sleeve t-shirt putting on my best cardigan that I saved for special occasions. Mind you, haven't had any till now. I was thinking of putting some shorts on because it was supposed to be in the high sixties today, but then I remembered. Scars. The puckered skin never lets me wear what I want. But I think I can figure something out. I put on some leggings that aren't thermal(for once) and then my shorts. It hid all of the scarrings and it felt nice to wear something so form fitting. I had gained quite a bit of weight when coming to Forks and it helped me _not_ look like a walking skeleton. My stomach could never digest food well in the first place, but it was doing so much better thanks to the predispone, the medication I take that helps my digestive system actually work. I slipped on my brand new black flats that I had gotten from Leah that she had outgrown a few years ago and grabbed one of my nicer purses -the one I also got from Leah a few months ago- and put my wallet and phone into it. I took my notebook out of my bookbag and opened it up, writing a note.

 _Hey Dad!_

 _If you're home before me, I went to Edward's house to meet his parents. I have my phone and wallet on me, so if you need to reach me, just call or text. (Do you know how to text old man?)_

 _Love,_

 _Gwen_

I folded the note up and put it in my shallow short's pocket before opening the mini fridge to grab a bottle of water before making my way to the bathroom. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail, leaving my excess bangs down to frame my face. I pulled a brush through the strands real quick and grabbed my morning medication before I forgot it all together, taking it with the water I had previously acquired.

"All right, I'm all decent and ready to go!" I tell him, bounding down the stairs and straight into Edward who stood at the foot of them. I nearly fell on him due to the surprise, but I'm incredibly lucky for him to have caught me and help me to the bottom of the stairs. Once my feet touch the ground Edward pulls me away for a brief moment. Then pulls me right back, his head bending to be closer to mine as we became flush against one another.

"Wrong again," he murmured into my ear. "You look utterly indecent - no one should look so tempting, it's not fair."

"Tempting?" I ask, with a breathy laugh. "I'll go change if you want, it's not that big of a deal." I start to pull away from the Cold One but was forced back into his chest. "Edward, I don't want to make this any harder for your family than it already is. Let me go change."

He only sighed and rested his chin on the top of my head. "You are so absurd," he tells me. His head moves from mine and allows me to look up at his face to form some kind of opinion on his reaction. His cool lips were placed on to my forehead, taking a deep breath. "Shall I explain why you're tempting?" A clear rhetorical question but I still wanted to say yes. Was it to form fitting? Should I have gone with something more formal? A million questions went around in my head because of my outfit, I never worried so badly about clothes before.

But then I felt the cool fingers trace up and down my spine, causing shivers to take over the entirety of my body for a split second. His lips came closer to mine till they touched for the third time, deepening the kiss extensively. I felt the slip of tongue brush on my lower lip then making them part. A hand went into the back pocket of my shorts and pulled me even closer (I didn't realize that was possible). I then felt a cold appendage enter my warm mouth and didn't necessarily know what to do.

There _was_ one thing I should have done immediately.

And that was to: breathe.

Due to the lack of oxygen, I fell into Edward's arms, dizzy. "Shoot," I hissed.

He chuckled. "Did I just make you feel faint?" His arms moved to hold my waist up to him, leaving no room to move except for the deep breaths I made.

"Maybe," I huffed out.

"What am I going to do with you?" he groaned in mock-exasperation. "Yesterday I kiss you, and you try to run! Today you pass out on me!" I laughed weakly, letting his arms support me while I tried to catch my breath and let the world stop spinning. "So much for being good at this relationship thing," he sighed.

"Oh, you're good," I stroked his ego. "You're far too good, that's the problem. You made me forget to _breathe._ That's how good it was."

He measured my expression for a moment. "I'm very partial to that color with your skin," he offered unexpectedly. I flushed with embarrassment and looked away. I don't know how other girls can deal with such compliments... do girls get compliments like that?

"Look, I'm trying really hard not to think about what I'm about to do, so can we go already?" I asked, moving to the dining table to set my note down from my pocket.

"And you're worried, not because you're headed to meet a houseful of vampires, but because you think those vampires won't approve of you, correct?"

"That's right," I answered immediately walking back over to him.

He shook his head. "You're incredible."

"I'm a teenage girl going to meet her boyfriend's parents, in which I am in full on love with their son. I'm nervous as all hell," I retort. He smiles at my words and wordlessly takes my hand to get to my truck.

I realized, as he drove my truck out of the main part of town, that I had no idea where he lived. He could live in Seattle for all I knew. With how both he and I briefly remember how Alice drove, they could probably get here in less than two hours. But once we passed over the bridge at the Calawah River I knew we weren't even in the right direction for it, the road winding northward, the houses flashing past us growing farther apart, getting bigger. 'The rich people area' my dad calls it. And then we were past the other houses altogether, driving through a misty forest. I was trying to decide whether to ask or be patient when he turned abruptly onto an unpaved road. It was unmarked, barely visible among the ferns. The forest encroached on both sides, leaving the road ahead only discernible for a few meters as it twisted, serpent-like, around the ancient trees of Washington.

And then, after a few miles, there was some thinning of the woods, and we were suddenly in a small meadow, or was it actually a lawn? The frontside? I couldn't actually tell. The gloom of the forest didn't relent, though, for there were six primordial cedars that shaded an entire acre with their vast sweep of branches. The trees held their protecting shadow right up to the walls of the house that rose among them, making obsolete the deep porch that wrapped around the first story.

I don't know what I had expected, but it definitely wasn't this. The house was timeless, graceful, and probably a hundred years old yet turned into a modern masterpiece. It was painted a soft, faded white on the bottom, three stories tall, rectangular and well proportioned. Both the windows and doors were apart of either the original house or a _perfect_ restoration. My truck was the only car in sight, but I didn't doubt that the garage to my right held the beloved Prius, Edward drove so often, along with Rosalie's Apple Red BMW. I could hear a river close by, hidden in the obscurity of the forest but it was a beautiful sound. It made me want to take a nap after reading a long novel.

"It's beautiful," I breathe out, taken away by the outstanding look of it. I felt a small tug on my scalp; Edward pulling my ponytail.

"Are you ready?"

"Nope, but hey. When will I be if not now?" I joke, the laugh I forced bubbling its way into my throat.

"They won't hate you, Gwen. Don't worry," Edward tried to reassure me. I took a deep breath and nodded before getting out.

We walk to the porch, the stairs a bit to steep for my liking but then again it's me who can barely go up any other stairs but the ones at home. Edward opens the door for me and I enter, taking in all of my surroundings. The inside was even more surprising, less predictable, than the exterior. It was very bright, very open, and _very large_. This must have originally been several rooms, but the walls had been removed from most of the first floor to create one wide space. The back, south-facing wall had been entirely replaced with glass, and, beyond the shade of the cedars, the lawn stretched bare to the wide river. A massive curving staircase dominated the west side of the room. The walls, the high-beamed ceiling, the wooden floors, and the thick carpets were all varying shades of white. I felt like I was going to stain everything in the house, even though I knew I held little to no dirt on me. It also briefly reminded me of a hospital.

"I asked them not to do this," Edward told me, grabbing my hand and pulling me up the stairs. And then, I smelt it.

"Is that pasta?" I ask quickly, matching Edward's stride, the staircase wide enough to accommodate the both of us. I take another whiff and nod. "That's definitely pasta."

Edward's head shakes. "Unbelievable," he whispers, the smirk wide on his face. I move faster than he does up the steps now, and we finally enter into what looks like a kitchen area.

"Do you need any help?" I ask the others. One I recognize as Dr. Cullen immediately, another which reminded me of Snow White incarnate, her delicate features and a small frame with the dark hair makes my brain connect the two ideas. I don't recognize her so I can safely assume that she must be Mrs. Cullen with her golden eyes, and then there's Emmett, who's waving at me with a knife and Rosalie who's smiling at me, then quickly hitting Emmett a moment later for his way of greeting me.

"Oh sweetheart, don't worry. You gave us a reason to use the kitchen for the first time," Mrs. Cullen tells me, coming around from the stove to put her hand out. "I'm Esme, it's so wonderful to know you."

I take the cold hand into mine, a smile spreading across my face. "I'm nice to finally meet you, Edward talks about you a lot. Only good things, though," I nervously laugh, and I feel stupid. It hasn't been five minutes and I've already made a fool of myself.

"It's nice to see you again, Gwen," Dr. Cullen nods at me from where he's figuring something out on the counter.

"It's nice to see you too, Dr. Cullen."

"Please, Gwen. Call me Carlisle."

I take another deep breath, reminding me of the pasta cooking. I look over to Edward who's standing there with an expression of awe. "I thought you said human food was like dirt to you."

"It is," he mumbled.

"It's for you, but I'm not sure how well it will be..." Mrs. Cullen trailed off. "Edward mentioned your favorite type of food is Italian so we're making baked penne with roasted vegetables. I hope you'll like it."

My eyes widen and I felt my mouth become a bit slack-jawed. Making food for me?

"She's joking," Emmett tells me, a smirk broadening on his face. "We're making the pasta and you're the sauce. Get her ready for the oven!"

"Emmett!" Rosalie hissed hitting her love once more. I slapped a hand over my mouth to avoid both humorous and nervous laughter from spilling out. Less I get Emmett into even _more_ trouble.

"If that's the way I go, I'll die a happy death," I tell him once I'm a bit more calmed down. "It's great to see you two," I direct the sentiment to Rosalie and Emmett. "But all jokes aside, thank you so much for even thinking of making a meal for myself. It means a lot to me."

"Gwen!" I heard the voice squeal, one I knew moderately well. I saw the inky black hair first before the arms were wrapped around me and a kiss on my cheek. "I've missed you. I'm sorry I couldn't hang out, we should do that really soon! And oooh, you do smell good. I never really noticed it before."

No one else seemed to know quite what to say, and then Jasper was there - tall and leonine. A feeling of ease spread through me, and I was suddenly comfortable despite where I was. Edward stared at Jasper, raising one eyebrow, and I remembered what Jasper could do.

"Thanks," I say to him, a smile spreading just a bit on my face. "It's nice to see you again, Jasper."

Jasper's face became more welcoming than it was, in addition to it, his posture became more relaxed. "It's nice to see you too, Gwen."

"We still got about, twenty minutes till it's done, why don't you go show Gwen around?" Esme encouraged Edward, gesturing to the rest of the house.

Edward nodded before taking my hand again. "I promised to show her something, actually." I look up at him, craning my neck. I don't remember him promising anything. "Come on, let's head back downstairs," he tells me, lightly tugging my arm so I follow him. "I'll tell you when your food's done," he exasperatedly says, letting a smile creep its way onto its face.

We make it back down to the first floor where Edward drags me along, towards the corner of the room I had failed to notice. Within the white was this black mass, a piano. One of the grand ones I had only dreamed of buying once I get my future house.

"You playing," I breathed out. "You promised to play for me." It felt like years ago now, the time where we were just teenagers and there were no supernatural things going on in Forks, at least to my knowledge.

"I did, come on, sit." He gestures to the piano bench, where I gingerly sit down, he took the spot next to me. His hands started to move swiftly across the ivory, and the room was filled with a composition so complex it'd put Balakirev to shame. It was unbelievable that only one set of hands were playing it. I felt myself take a deep breath at the surprise of it and leaned onto his ever moving arm. "Do you like it?" he asks me.

"You wrote this piece?" I gaped, sitting straight up to get his reaction. He nods once and a smile played on his lips once more. "It's... beautiful. Words can't suffice."

"Well, I hope you like this one just as much, maybe even a bit more." The piano notes slowed form its fast pace and began to be played one by one. It... sounded sad, like a call for help. But it soon got faster, the notes beginning to travel and echo throughout the room, a steady constant began. It began to get lighter and lighter, the sounds of sadness all but gone now as the notes danced. And then began to slow. But it was a happy slow now; if that made sense. It sounded... content. And then it began to pick up more, sounding happier than ever all thoughts and stress taken from the beautiful sounds as they figured they were alright. And then. It stopped on a single note.

I didn't realize, I had been tearing up till a single tear fell on to my lap and hit my hand. I looked down at the droplet for a moment, wondering where it came from before bringing the same hand to my face. I wiped at the tears with my cardigan and sniffled.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked, concern laced in his voice.

"It was so pretty. I love it. Oh gosh." I put hands into my eyes sockets to try and stop the crying. "You were humming that all last night too, weren't you?"

He chuckled. "Yes." He kept on playing the lullaby, restarting the piece. "It was inspired by you, how I feel, what you've been through, how you feel for me, how I ultimately feel for you, it's all there." I huddled into his arm again, kissing his bicep. "You know, you didn't have to be worried. They all like you." I look up from under my lashes, trying to understand what he was saying. "Esme especially. She wouldn't have cared if you had a third eye and webbed feet, she's happy I found my... someone. She was worried something was wrong with me, afraid that something was missing from my essential makeup, that I was too young when Carlisle changed me... she's ecstatic. Every time I touch you, she just about chokes with satisfaction."

"Well... I'm glad I didn't totally fail the 'meet the parents' test. I'm a bit awkward, honestly." He chuckled.

"You don't say?" Edward teased. I shoved him just a bit, but it was like moving a wall. "And Alice loves you. I told her to keep her distance from you, after the car incident. I thought it'd be best if we weren't near each other, that we never spoke to one another again. And I didn't want the chance to interact with you so, I... demanded, as Alice will put it, that she stays away."

I took the time of silence between our voices to look around the room, still watching the long fingers dance across the keyboard. "The room... the _house_ is so light and open."

"No coffins, no piled skulls; I don't think we even have cobwebs... what a disappointment we give to the vampire name," he teased.

"Eh, not to bad," I teased back. The notes continued to go on, playing so smoothly.

"It's the only place we don't have to hide." He seemed much more serious answering now.

The song began to drift to an end, the final chords shifting to a more melancholy key. The last note hovered poignantly in the silence.

"Thank you." I dabbed my eyes a bit to stop the tears from falling any farther than they have already. He smiles at me and stands.

"Come on, your food's almost done." With a move of his arm, he helped me up and took me to the stairs once more to the kitchen, letting me keep the pace and using him as leverage if I stumble.

To think, I was taught to fear the arms of the Cold One that's helping me from falling.


	18. Bedroom Hymns

The food was _fantastic._ And I made sure Mrs. Cullen - Esme - knew so. She said it was her first dish she's made in over fifty years, and while that took me back a bit, I quickly left the shock and replaced it with gratitude. Especially when she said I could take the leftovers home for Dad.

"Want to see the rest of the house?" Edward asked once I left the table, not without asking to help. Esme demanded I not wash the dish since I was a guest. It made me feel warm on the inside.

"No coffins?" I verified, the sarcasm in my voice nearly dripping.

He laughed, taking my hand, leading me away from the kitchen and to the staircase. "No coffins," he promised.

We walked up the massive staircase, my hand trailing along the satin-smooth rail. The long hall at the top of the stairs was paneled with a honey-colored wood, the same as the floorboards.

"Rosalie and Emmett's room... Carlisle's office... Alice's room..." He gestured as he led me past the doors.

He would have continued, but I stopped dead at the end of the hall, staring incredulously at the ornament hanging on the wall above my head. Edward chuckled at my bewildered expression.

"You can laugh," he said. "It is sort of ironic."

I didn't laugh. My hand raised automatically, one finger extended as if to touch the large wooden cross, its dark patina contrasting with the lighter tone of the wall. I didn't touch it, though I was curious if the aged wood would feel as silky as it looked.

"It must be very old," I guessed.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Early sixteen-thirties, more or less."

I looked away from the cross to stare at him. "Why do you keep this here? Is there a reason for it?"

"Nostalgia. It belonged to Carlisle's father."

"He collected antiques?" I suggested doubtfully.

"No. He carved this himself. It hung on the wall above the pulpit in the vicarage where he preached."

I wasn't sure if my face betrayed my shock, but I returned to gazing at the simple, ancient cross, just in case. I quickly did the mental math; the cross was over three hundred and seventy years old. The silence stretched on as I struggled to wrap my mind around the concept of so many years.

"Are you all right?" He sounded worried.

"Oh, I'm fine," I answer. "I was just wondering, how old is Carlisle if this was made in the sixteen-hundreds by his father."

"He just celebrated his three hundred and sixty-second birthday," Edward said. I looked back at him, a million questions in my eyes that accompanied my amused expression. He watched me carefully as he spoke. "Carlisle was born in London, in the sixteen-forties, he believes. Time wasn't marked as accurately then, for the common people anyway. It was just before Cromwell's rule, though. He was the only son of an Anglican pastor. His mother died giving birth to him. His father was an intolerant man. As the Protestants came into power, he was enthusiastic in his persecution of Roman Catholics and other religions. He also believed very strongly in the reality of evil. He led hunts for witches, werewolves... and vampires." The corner of my mouth upturned at the irony of the situation, something Edward took notice of and smirked right on back. "They burned a lot of innocent people - of course, the real creatures that he sought were not so easy to catch.

"When the pastor grew old, he placed his obedient son in charge of the raids. At first, Carlisle was a disappointment; he was not quick to accuse, to see demons where they did not exist. But he was persistent and more clever than his father. He actually discovered a coven of true vampires that lived hidden in the sewers of the city, only coming out by night to hunt. In those days, when monsters weren't just myth or legend-" he felt my intense gaze and turned back to me and gave an apologetic smile for the use of monster. "-that was the way many lived.

"The people gathered their pitchforks and torches, of course" - his brief laugh was darker now - "and waited where Carlisle had seen the monsters exit into the street. Eventually one emerged."

His voice was very quiet; I strained to catch the words.

"He must have been ancient, and weak with hunger. Carlisle heard him call out in Latin to the others when he caught the scent of the mob. He ran through the streets, and Carlisle - he was twenty-three and very fast - was in the lead of the pursuit. The creature could have easily outrun them, but Carlisle thinks he was too hungry, so he turned and attacked. He fell on Carlisle first, but the others were close behind, and he turned to defend himself. He killed two men, and made off with a third, leaving Carlisle bleeding in the street."

He paused. I could sense he was editing something, keeping something from me. If he wasn't comfortable with it, I wouldn't force it out of him, but I wish he didn't have to hide things from me. Well, I doubt my knowledge of their species was something they wanted me to know either, something they wanted to hide. But that's beside the point.

"Carlisle knew what his father would do. The bodies would be burned - anything infected by the monster must be destroyed. Carlisle acted instinctively to save his own life. He crawled away from the alley while the mob followed the fiend and his victim. He hid in a cellar, buried himself in rotting potatoes for three days. It's a miracle he was able to keep silent, to stay undiscovered. It was over then, and he realized what he had become."

I'm not sure what my face was revealing, but he suddenly broke off from his faraway look to stop his storytelling.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm alright, it's just... morbidly fascinating, I guess."

He smiled. "I expect you have a few more questions for me."

" _Only_ a few, right?"

His smile widened over his nearly blinding white teeth. He started back down the hall, pulling me along by the hand. "Come on, then," he encouraged. "I'll show you."

He led me back to the room that he'd pointed out as Carlisle's office. He paused outside the door for a brief moment, not knocking.

"Come in," Carlisle's voice invited.

Edward opened the door to a high-ceilinged room with tall, west-facing windows. The walls were paneled again, in a darker wood - where they were visible. Most of the wall space was taken up by towering bookshelves that reached high above my head and held more books than I'd ever seen outside of a library. It was my version of heaven.

Carlisle sat behind a huge mahogany desk in a leather chair. He was just placing a bookmark in the pages of the thick volume he held. The room was how I'd always imagined a college dean's would look - only Carlisle looked too young to fit the part. And he didn't have classes dangling from the top of his nose, I always imagined Dr. Cullen to wear them for some reason or another.

"What can I do for you?" he asked us pleasantly, rising from his seat.

"I wanted to show Gwen some of our history," Edward said. "Well, your history, to be precise."

"We didn't mean to disturb you," I apologized, it seemed he was in the middle of something.

"Not at all," he replied, setting the large tome (for it couldn't be called anything else) on the corner of his desk. "Where are you going to start?"

"The Waggoner," Edward replied, placing one hand lightly on my shoulder and spinning me around to look back toward the door we'd just come through.

The wall we faced now was different from the others. Instead of bookshelves, this wall was crowded with framed pictures of all sizes, some in vibrant colors, others dull monochromes. I searched for some logic, some binding motif the collection had in common, but I found nothing in my hasty examination.

Edward pulled me toward the far left side, standing me in front of a small square oil painting in a plain wooden frame. This one did not stand out among the bigger and brighter pieces; painted in varying tones of sepia, it depicted a miniature city full of steeply slanted roofs, with thin spires atop a few scattered towers. A wide river filled the foreground, crossed by a bridge covered with structures that looked like tiny cathedrals.

"London in the sixteen-fifties," Edward said.

"The London of my youth," Carlisle added, from a few feet behind us. I feel as if I would have jumped ten feet into the air if I hadn't become used to Edward's speed and quietness.

"Will you tell the story?" Edward asked. I twisted a little to see Carlisle's reaction.

He met my glance and smiled. "I would," he replied. "But I'm actually running a bit late. The hospital called this morning - Dr. Snow is taking a sick day. Besides, you know the stories as well as I do," he added, grinning at Edward now. It was a strange combination to absorb - the everyday concerns of the small town doctor stuck in the middle of a discussion of his early days in seventeenth-century London.

After another warm smile sent in my direction, Carlisle left the room. I stared at the little picture of Carlisle's hometown for a long moment. "What happened then?" I finally asked, staring up at Edward, who was watching me. "When he realized what had happened to him?"

He glanced back to the paintings, and I looked to see which image caught his interest now. It was a larger landscape in dull fall colors - an empty, shadowed meadow in a forest, with a craggy peak in the distance.

"When he knew what he had become," Edward said quietly, "he rebelled against it. He tried to destroy himself. But that's not easily done."

"How?" I didn't mean to say it aloud, but the word broke through my shock.

"He jumped from great heights," Edward told me, his voice impassive. "He tried to drown himself in the ocean... but he was young to the new life and very strong. It is amazing that he was able to resist... feeding... while he was still so new. The instinct is more powerful then, it takes over everything. But he was so repelled by himself that he had the strength to try to kill himself with starvation."

"Is that possible?" I ask, the morbid fascination coming back in full force.

"No, there are very few ways we can be killed. So he could only breed his hunger and eventually, he became weak. He strayed as far as he could from the human populace, recognizing that his willpower was weakening, too. For months he wandered by night, seeking the loneliest places, loathing himself.

"One night, a herd of deer passed his hiding place. He was so wild with thirst that he attacked without a thought. His strength returned and he realized there was an alternative to being the vile monster he feared. Had he not eaten venison in his former life? Over the next months, his new philosophy was born. He could exist without being a demon. He found himself again. He began to make better use of his time. He'd always been intelligent, eager to learn. Now he had unlimited time before him. He studied by night, planned by day. He swam to France and -"

"Swam?" I asked incredulously.

"People do swim the Channel all the time, Gwen," he patiently reminded me.

"Oh yeah," I sheepishly replied. "Sometimes I forget nature can stay the same in different time periods, even when everything changes."

"Swimming is easy for us-"

"You guys are freakishly good at everything," I griped jokingly, enjoying the widening smile that overtook his face. Edward became more and more amused while patiently crossed his arms. I breathed out a giggle and nodded. "I'll just... shut up now, continue, please? I promise not to interrupt again."

He chuckled, somewhat darkly before finishing his sentence. "Swimming is easy for us because technically we don't have to breathe."

"Wait, rea-" a cold finger put itself on my lips and I playfully glared up at the man.

"You promised, no interrupting," he laughed out. "Now, will we have to end the story prematurely or will you be quiet?"

"You can't spring something like that on me, and then expect me not to say anything," I mumbled against his finger before my smile begins to spread.

He lifted his hand, moving it to rest against my neck. My hand went up to his, squeezing it where it remained. "So... you don't have to breathe?" I demanded.

"No, it's not necessary. Just a habit." He shrugged.

"How long can you go... without breathing?"

"Indefinitely, I suppose; I don't know. It gets a bit uncomfortable - being without a sense of smell."

"A bit uncomfortable," I echoed. "Not the lack of oxygen, but the lack of smell," I joked, a smile spreading across my lips.

I must not have been paying attention to something. Because one thing or another made him grow somber. His hand dropped to his side, leaving mine and he stood very still, his eyes intent on my face. The silence lengthened. His features were immobile as stone. "What is it?" I whispered, touching his frozen face.

His face softened under my hand, and he sighed. "I keep waiting for it to happen."

"For what to happen?"

"I know that at some point, something I tell you or something you see is going to be too much. And then you'll run away from me, screaming as you go." He smiled half a smile, but his eyes were serious. "I won't stop you. I want this to happen, because I want you to be safe. And yet, I want to be with you. The two desires are impossible to reconcile..." He trailed off, staring at my face. Waiting.

"I grew up with _legends_ of you guys. Legends that are meant to scare a child into bed every night before their bedtime. And I'll admit, growing up, I was scared. But now? You haven't given me a reason too. And I'll say it... over and over again till you believe it. I'm not running, from you or otherwise."

"We'll see," he said, smiling again.

I frowned at him. He didn't truly accept my answer. "Alright then, go on - Carlisle was swimming to France."

He paused, getting back into his story. Reflexively, his eyes flickered to another picture - the most colorful of them all, the most ornately framed, and the largest; it was twice as wide as the door it hung next to. The canvas overflowed with bright figures in swirling robes, writhing around long pillars and off marbled balconies. I couldn't tell if it represented Greek mythology, or if the characters floating in the clouds above were meant to be biblical.

"Carlisle swam to France, and continued on through Europe, to the universities there. By night he studied music, science, medicine - and found his calling, his penance, in that, in saving human lives." His expression became awed, almost reverent. "I can't adequately describe the struggle; it took Carlisle two centuries of torturous effort to perfect his self-control. Now he is all but immune to the scent of human blood, and he is able to do the work he loves without agony. He finds a great deal of peace there, at the hospital..." Edward stared off into space for a long moment. Suddenly he seemed to recall his purpose. He tapped his finger against the huge painting in front of us.

"He was studying in Italy when he discovered the others there. They were much more civilized and educated than the wraiths of the London sewers."

He touched a comparatively sedate quartet of figures painted on the highest balcony, looking down calmly on the mayhem below them. I examined the grouping carefully and realized, with a startled laugh, that I recognized the golden-haired man.

"Solimena was greatly inspired by Carlisle's friends. He often painted them as gods," Edward chuckled. "Aro, Marcus, Caius," he said, indicating the other three, two black-haired, one snowy-white. "Nighttime patrons of the arts."

"What happened to them?" I wondered aloud, my fingertip hovering a centimeter from the figures on the canvas.

"They're still there." He shrugged. "As they have been for who knows how many millennia. Carlisle stayed with them only for a short time, just a few decades. He greatly admired their civility, their refinement, but they persisted in trying to cure his aversion to 'his natural food source,' as they called it. They tried to persuade him, and he tried to persuade them, to no avail. At that point, Carlisle decided to try the New World. He dreamed of finding others like himself. He was very lonely, you see.

"He didn't find anyone for a long time. But, as monsters became the stuff of fairy tales, he found he could interact with unsuspecting humans as if he were one of them. He began practicing medicine. But the companionship he craved evaded him; he couldn't risk familiarity.

"When the influenza epidemic hit, he was working nights in a hospital in Chicago." This is where Edward comes in, I remember that. "He'd been turning over an idea in his mind for several years, and he had almost decided to act - since he couldn't find a companion, he would create one. He wasn't absolutely sure how his own transformation had occurred, so he was hesitant. And he was loath to steal anyone's life the way his had been stolen. It was in that frame of mind that he found me. There was no hope for me; I was left in a ward with the dying. He had nursed my parents, and knew I was alone. He decided to try with my mother's insistence..."

His voice, nearly a whisper now, trailed off. He stared unseeingly through the west windows. I wondered which images filled his mind now, Carlisle's memories or his own. I waited quietly. When he turned back to me, a gentle angel's smile lit his expression.

"And so we've come full circle," he concluded.

"And you've been with Carlisle since," I stated.

"Almost." He put his hand lightly on my waist and pulled me with him as he walked through the door. I stared back at the wall of pictures, wondering if I would ever get to hear the other stories.

Edward didn't say anything else as we walked down the hall, so I asked, "Almost? Was this the few decades you weren't with him?"

He sighed, seeming reluctant to answer. "Well, I had a typical bout of rebellious adolescence - about ten years after I was... born... created, whatever you want to call it. I wasn't sold on his life of abstinence, and I resented him for curbing my appetite. So I went off on my own for a time."

He could tell. I vaguely realized that we were headed up the next flight of stairs, but I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings.

"That doesn't repulse you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I guess... it sounds reasonable. It's your immediate nature." I shrugged. "And you told me a bit about it... remember?"

He barked a laugh, more loudly than before. We were at the top of the stairs now, in another paneled hallway.

"From the time of my new birth," he murmured, "I had the advantage of knowing what everyone around me was thinking, both human and non-human alike. That's why it took me ten years to defy Carlisle - I could read his perfect sincerity, understand exactly why he lived the way he did.

"It took me only a few years to return to Carlisle and recommit to his vision. I thought I would be exempt from the... depression... that accompanies a conscience. Because I knew the thoughts of my prey, I could pass over the innocent and pursue only the evil. If I followed a murderer down a dark alley where he stalked a young girl - if I saved her, then surely I wasn't so terrible."

I shivered, imagining only too clearly what he described - the alley at night, the frightened girl, the dark man behind her. And Edward, Edward as he hunted, terrible and unstoppable. Would she have been grateful, that girl, or more frightened than before?

"But as time went on, I began to see the monster in my eyes. I couldn't escape the debt of so much human life taken, no matter how justified. And I went back to Carlisle and Esme. They welcomed me back like the prodigal child that had left home to pursue a life of crime. It was more than I deserved." We stopped at the end of the hall, Edward's face smiling just a bit. "I imagine your legs hurt a bit, right?"

I hadn't realized till he said something that the tingles of ache were making its way up my leg. I give a single quick nod. "A little, nothing that bad though."

"Come on," he gestures to the door behind me. "My room."

His room faced south, with a wall-sized window like the great room below. The whole back side of the house must be glass. His view looked down on the winding Sol Duc River, across the untouched forest to the Olympic Mountain range. The mountains were much closer than I would have believed from our trip.

The western wall was completely covered with shelf after shelf of CDs. His room was better stocked than a music store. In the corner was a sophisticated-looking sound system, the kind I was afraid to touch because I'd be sure to break something on it. There was no bed, only a wide and inviting black leather sofa. The floor was covered with a thick golden carpet, and the walls were hung with heavy fabric in a slightly darker shade.

"Good acoustics?" I guessed.

He chuckled and nodded in answer. He picked up a remote and turned the stereo on. It was quiet, but the soft jazz number sounded like the band was in the room with us. I went to look at his mind-boggling music collection.

"How do you have these organized?" I asked, unable to find any rhyme or reason to the titles until I noticed what year they all belonged to. "Wait, okay... these are from the nineteen-forties, these are nineteen-eighties, here's the fifties and seventies, but they're all jumbled together. I would have thought you would have them organized alphabetically or numerically. By artist or album's name, maybe month of the year?"

"They're organized by time period, yes. Though, I organized them by personal preference by the time frame." He said this more absently. I turned, watching how he looked at me with a peculiar expression in his eyes.

"What is it?" I questioned, becoming more concerned. I stood up straighter and moved closer. "Are you alright?"

"I was prepared to feel... relieved. Having you know about everything, not needing to keep secrets from you. But I didn't expect to feel more than that. I like it. It makes me... happy." He shrugged, smiling slightly.

"I'm glad," I said, smiling back. "For a second, I thought you had regretted telling me everything." My arms wrapped around his middle and his arms came over my shoulders. But then, as his eyes dissected my expression, his smile faded and his forehead creased. "You're still waiting for the running and the screaming, aren't you?" A faint smile touched his lips, and he nodded. "I hate to burst your bubble, but you're really not as scary as you think you are. I don't find you scary at all, actually," I tease, my small itching its way onto my lips.

He stopped, raising his eyebrows in blatant disbelief. Then he flashed a wide, wicked smile. "You really shouldn't have said that," he chuckled.

He growled, a low sound in the back of his throat; his lips curled back over his perfectly straight teeth. His body shifted suddenly, half-crouched, tensed like a lion about to pounce.

I backed away from him, glaring. "You wouldn't dare." He put one foot just the tiniest bit forward to show how determined he was to this plan. "Edward, I swear to Go-"

I didn't see him leap at me - it was much too fast as he has previously shown. I only found myself suddenly airborne, and then we crashed onto the sofa, knocking it into the wall. All the while, his arms formed an iron cage of protection around me - I was barely jostled, like when we (Edward) were running yesterday. But I still was gasping as I tried to right myself by sitting up straight. He wasn't having any of that. He curled me into a ball against his chest, holding me more securely than iron chains would. My hands bundled his shirt in a tight grip while I glared at him playfully. This glare didn't seem to do a thing to him, as his eyes were filled with humor and his lips twisted into joy.

"You were saying?" he growled playfully.

"That you're the cutest little vampire I have ever seen," I coo. Edward laughs and digs his face into my neck.

"Really?" He asks, peppering kisses. "You sure about that?" He kept dotting the kisses up my neck till they reached closer to my mouth. Just as I'm reaching for his lips, just for the most chase kiss possible, he moves away. "Nope."

I groaned and rest my straining neck. "Oh no!" I say in mock terror. "The horrible vampire! What am I to do, oh no!"

He laughs at this before granting me my want, placing his lips lightly on mine. I crane my neck once more to deepen it before letting go. "Happy?"

"Very." I give a quick and vigorous nod. He only laughs before groaning the tiniest bit.

"Can we come in?" a soft voice sounded from the hall.

I struggled to free myself, but Edward merely readjusted me so that I was somewhat more conventionally seated on his lap. My feet placed on the sofa and one arm went over Edward's shoulder while the other one gripped his shirt by my side. I could now see it was Alice, then, and Jasper behind her in the doorway.

"Go ahead." Edward was still chuckling quietly.

Alice seemed to find nothing unusual in our embrace; she walked - almost danced, her movements were so graceful (kind of wish I could walk like that) - to the center of the room, where she folded herself sinuously onto the floor. Jasper, however, paused at the door, his expression a trifle shocked. He stared at Edward's face, and I wondered if he was tasting the atmosphere with his unusual sensitivity.

"It sounded like you were having Gwen for lunch, and we came to see if you would share," Alice announced.

I giggled and tucked myself deeper into Edward's embrace. He only grinned and tightened his hold on me.

"Sorry, I don't believe I have enough to spare," he replied, his arms holding me recklessly close.

"Actually," Jasper said, smiling despite himself as he walked into the room, more at ease than I would have thought. "Alice says there's going to be a real storm tonight, and Emmett wants to play ball. Are you game?"

The words were all common enough, but the context confused me. I gathered that Alice was a bit more reliable than the weatherman, though.

Edward's eyes lit up, but he hesitated.

"You should definitely bring, Gwen," Alice chirped. Jasper just gave a reproachful look, hoping to ease discomforts that are left in the room.

"Do you want to go?" Edward asked me, excited, his expression vivid and hopeful.

"Sure," I said excitedly. "When are we going?"

"We have to wait for thunder to play ball - you'll see why," he promised.

"Will I need an umbrella?" I ask, looking over to our designated meteorologist.

"Will she?" Jasper moved farther into the room, closer to Alice.

"No." She was positive. "The storm will hit over town. It should be dry enough in the clearing."

"Good, then." The enthusiasm in Jasper's voice was catching, naturally. I found myself eager, nearly bouncing in Edward's lap. I get to see people play baseball. On their own accord and not because it's for a grade.

"Let's go see if Carlisle will come." Alice bounded up and to the door in a fashion that would break any ballerinas heart.

"Like you don't know," Jasper teased, and they were swiftly on their way. Jasper managed to inconspicuously close the door behind them.

"So baseball?" I asked, a smile reaching ear to ear on me.

"Yes baseball. We'll be playing, you'll probably be watching," he tells me.

"Vampires playing baseball," I tease. "This will be a sight."

"It _is_ the American past time," he said with mock solemnity.


	19. Repitore

It was just beginning to drizzle when Edward turned onto my street. Up until that moment, I'd had no doubt that he'd be staying with me while I spent a few hours in the 'real world'. You know, the one without mythical vampires and their baseball games.

And then I saw the black car, a weathered Ford, parked in our driveway - and heard Edward mutter something unintelligible in a low, harsh voice. Leaning away from the rain under the shallow front porch, mt cousin Jacob Black stood behind my uncle's wheelchair. Billy's face was impassive as stone as Edward parked my truck against the curb. Jacob watched me, a knowing smirk playing on his lips, a wink sent my way.

Edward's low voice was furious. "This is crossing the line."

"Please tell me, Billy didn't come here to warn Dad about you guys..."

"If I told you that, I'd be lying." Edward nodded once, answering Billy's gaze through the rain with narrowed eyes.

I groaned, not believing that Billy would stoop this low. "Let me deal with this," I suggested. Edward's black glare made me the tiniest bit anxious.

To my surprise, he wholeheartedly agreed. "That's probably best. Be careful, though. The child has no idea."

I bridled a little at the word child. "Jacob is only a like… an actual year younger than I am," I reminded him.

He looked at me then, his anger abruptly fading into one of humor. "Oh, I know," he assured me with a grin. I give a silly sigh and put my hand on the door handle. "Get them inside," he instructed, "so I can leave. I'll be back around dusk."

"Do you want my truck?" I offered, trying to make it seem more believable for him to be human.

He rolled his eyes. "I could walk home faster than this truck moves."

"What'd I say about dissing, Jenny?" He gave a crooked smile and I rolled my eyes. "You don't have to leave. This is my home. Not on the rez."

He smiled at my glum expression. "Actually, I do. After you get rid of them" - he threw a dark glance in my family's direction - "you still have to prepare Chief Swan that we're going steady."

I gave a playful groan. "What does 'going steady' even mean?"

"It means I'm officially your boyfriend, for all intents and purposes." He smiled the crooked smile that I've come to love. "I'll be back soon," he promised. His eyes flickered back to the porch, and then he leaned in to swiftly kiss me just under the edge of my jaw. I smiled at him at reciprocated the kiss back to his cheek.

"Soon," I stressed as I opened the door and stepped out into the rain.

I could feel his eyes on my back as I half-ran through the light sprinkle toward the porch. Billy's face was no longer impassive, and his hands clutched at the armrests of his chair like a lifeline. "Hey, guys!" I greeted as nicely as possible. I made my way up the steps and took my keys from my purse. "Dad's working late today, but he should be home soon. If you want you can come inside, I'll make some dinner. You guys haven't been waiting out here too long, I hope."

I swung the door open and turned the porch light on. "No, we only got here a few minutes ago," Billy replied. "I wanted to bring this up." He handed me the paper bag, and I knew immediately what the contents inside of it were.

"Harry's fish fry! Is this from the trip yesterday?" I enthusiastically asked making my way to the kitchen.

"Yep, should have the rest of the lot skinned and deboned by this Friday." He stopped halfway to the kitchen before turning. "Jake, why don't you go get that new picture of Rebecca out of the car? I'll leave that for Charlie, too."

"Where is it?" Jacob asked, his voice joking and smirking broadly. I looked to see him leaning against the couch with his arms crossed. He was getting blackmail fodder for years.

"I think I saw it in the trunk," Billy said. "You may have to dig for it."

Jacob huffed but still went back out into the rain.

Billy and I faced each other in silence. After a few seconds, the quiet started to feel awkward, so I turned and headed to the kitchen again. I could hear his wet wheels squeak against the linoleum as he followed. I shoved the bag onto the crowded top shelf of the fridge before taking the container from my purse and shoving it just as delicately as I had the fish fry. Spinning around to confront the old man. His deeply lined face was unreadable.

"Dad's not going to be home till... six?" I say in more of a question than anything. I look over to our shared family calendar and nod. "Yeah, six." He nodded in agreement but said nothing. "And thanks for bringing the fish fry, Dad and I have been craving it nonstop this week." He continued nodding. I sighed and folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the fridge. "What is it?"

"Gwen," he hesitated, not sure how to go through with what he had to say. I waited. "Gwen," he said again, "You're my niece, and Charlie - he's my best friend."

"Yes, I'm well aware on both accounts."

"You know the legends, Gwen." I huffed and stood straight. "Don't you go and give me that teen attitude!"

"I'm not!" I snap. I was acting like a regular teen, I realized. I took a deep breath to calm myself. "I'm not," I say in a calmer tone.

"You're hanging around with those Cullens, and I don't like it. It may not be any of my business but I don't think it's a good idea."

"You're right, Billy. It's not your business," I tell him. "I know most of the tribe won't even go to the hospital because of Doctor Cullen. Even when he just wants the best for the people of Forks and La Push. You have to stop living in the past and start looking to the present. And how could the Cullens do the people of La Push so wrong, when they've never even set foot on the reservation."

Billy took a deep breath before plainly stating it. "The Cullens are cold ones." I laughed, bright and humorlessly.

"Oh yeah, you're going with that tale?" I ask, trying to throw him off their scent.

"Tales ring with truth, Gwen," he replied in a hard voice. His eyes dissected my very being, leaning back in his chair to get a full view. "You seem exceedingly well informed."

"Maybe," I shrugged. "I actually got to know Edward and his family, instead of listening to superstitious old men. So I guess you could say I am informed."

"But is Charlie as well informed?" He found the tiniest bit of weakness I had, my Achilles heel.

"Dad's met Edward and he likes the Cullens. If you bring this up with him, especially if you have any hope for Dad to forgive you and putting the whole fight you had in the past, you won't tell him the legends." His expression was unhappy and more so, disappointed.

"I'll trade my friendship with Charlie in order for him to live." His hand balled into a fist and hit the wheelchair's arm. "What you're doing is his business."

I scoffed, "In order for him to live?" I shook my head as I leaned farther into the chair's arms. "Who says the Cullen's of all people, are going to kill Dad?"

"You don't know what they're capable of, Gwen," Billy warned. "I'm going to tell Charlie, and that's final."

"You see, you say it isn't any of my business. But it is. Are you, the elder of the tribe, going to go straight out and disobey the laws you yourself are meant to uphold?"

His jaw clenched and he spoke through his teeth. "Yes. I guess that is your business. I won't say anything."

I took a deep breath and gave him a relaxed look. "Thank you, Billy. The Cullens aren't bad, at all. I hope you can eventually see that."

"Just think about what you're doing, Gwen," he urged.

"Okay," I sigh out, moving to sit at the kitchen table.

He frowned and shook his head. "What I meant to say was, don't do what you're doing."

I looked into his eyes, filled with nothing but concern for me, and there was nothing I could say. "I'll be safe, Uncle. I promise." He only closed his eyes and wheeled over to me, once in front of me he took my hand and looked me in the eyes.

"I love you, kid." I scooted forward on my chair to throw my arms around him.

"I love you too."

Just then the front door banged loudly, and I jumped at the sound, leaving the old man's embrace.

"There's no picture anywhere in that car." Jacob's complaining voice reached us before he did. The shoulders of his shirt were stained with the rain, his hair dripping, when he rounded the corner.

"Hmm," Billy grunted, suddenly detached, spinning his chair around to face his son from me. "I guess I left it at home."

Jacob rolled his eyes dramatically. "Great."

"Well, Gwen, tell Charlie" - Billy paused before continuing - "that we stopped by, I mean."

"I will," I happily reply.

Jacob was surprised at the turn of events. "Are we leaving already?"

"Charlie's gonna be out late," Billy explained as he rolled himself past Jacob.

"Gotcha," Jacob replied, turning around to look at me. "I'll see you later? You guys do have Spring Break this week, right?"

"Yeah, we'll go see a movie or something," I tell him. "Bring Quil and Embry too. I'll be the cool older cousin." Jacob mock-saluted and walked on out in front of his father.

"Take care," Billy warned me, though I took it in stride.

"You too! Drive safely?"

"Will do!" Jacob cried from the front lawn.

Jake began to help his old man out the door and to their black Ford. I waved briefly, glancing swiftly toward my now-empty truck, and then shut the door before they were gone.

I stood in the hallway for a minute, listening to the sound of their car as it backed out and drove away. I stayed where I was, waiting for the irritation and anxiety to subside. Along with the chilling care that Billy had sent my way. When the tension eventually faded a bit, I headed upstairs to change out of my 'dressy' clothes.

I began to pick things out, some jeans and a regular sweater that I've worn plenty of times and my warm raincoat. I decided on some waterproof winter boots and took those out from the back of my closet and started my way back downstairs. I went back upstairs to calm myself and relax, maybe a small nap.

Till the phone rang. And I contemplated letting it go to voicemail before sprinting down the stairs to get it."

"Hello?" I asked, breathless.

"Gwen? It's me," Jessica said.

"Oh, hey, Jess." I scrambled for a moment to come back down to reality. It felt like months rather than days since I'd spoken to Jess. But why was she calling me? "How did you get my number?"

"Oh, Angela gave it to me," she answered enthusiastically.

"Okay then well, uh." What was I supposed to say? Or do? "How was the dance?" I just invited her to talk my ear off.

"It was so much fun!" Jessica gushed. Needing no more invitation than that, she launched into a minute-by-minute account of the previous night. I mmm'd and ahh'd at the right places, but it wasn't easy to concentrate. Jessica, Mike, the dance, the school - they all seemed strangely irrelevant at the moment.

"Did you hear what I said, Gwen?" Jess asked, irritated.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, Mike, kissed me! Can you believe it?"

"That's wonderful, Jess," I said. "I'm happy for you guys."

"So what did you do yesterday?" Jessica challenged, still sounding bothered by my lack of attention. Or maybe she was upset because I hadn't asked for details.

"Nothing much. I went on a date, ate some food and read some books. Y'know."

"Date? With who?!"

"Uh, Edward," I replied in a low voice. I began to hear Dad's car entering the garage, the engine rumbling.

"Edward Cullen?! He's actually still talking to you?!"

The front door slammed and I could hear Dad banging around under the stairs, putting his guns away for the next few days.

"Um." I hesitated, not sure how I should react to the statement.

"Hi there, kiddo!" Dad called as he walked into the kitchen, dirtied from the waist up.

Jess heard his voice. "Oh, your dad's there. Never mind - we'll talk later. Love you!"

"See ya, Jess." I hung up the phone, more confused as to ever for her calling me.

"Hey, Dad," I said. He was scrubbing his hands and mud came off of them in clumps. "Billy dropped off some of Harry's fish fry this afternoon, so we're eating well for dinner."

"Bless that man!" Dad exclaimed. He continued to clean himself up while I got dinner ready. It didn't take long till we were sitting at the table, eating in silence. Dad was enjoying his food. I was wondering desperately how to fulfill my assignment. Going steady. Who even says that anymore? People from the early nineteen-hundreds, that's who.

"So uh, Dad."

"So uh, Gwen," Dad said right back, his lips turning up under his mustache. "What is it? What'd you do today?"

"Well, this afternoon I just hung out around the house..." Only the very recent part of this afternoon, actually. I tried to keep my voice upbeat, but my stomach was hollow. "And this morning I was over at the Cullens'."

The police officer dropped his fork.

"Dr. Cullen's place?" he asked in astonishment.

I pretended not to notice his reaction. "Yeah."

"What were you doing there?" He hadn't picked his fork back up.

"Well, Edward and I want to go steady, so he took me to meet his parents. We're all doing a family thing tonight too." It appeared that my father was having an aneurysm. "Playing baseball, and all that."

"Steady?" He asked in disbelief, forgoing the last words of my sentence.

"Yeah, we've gone on a couple of dates. We decided to make it official. Boyfriend and girlfriend and all that."

He picked up his fork now and looked wistful. "Alright."

"Alright?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "He treats you good?"

I nod. "Better than good, he's a sweet guy. His family's even sweeter, if possible."

"They're good folk." He nods, seeming to be trying to convince himself than me. "How old is he, again?"

"He's a junior," I tell him, forgoing the age thing. "We have Spanish and Biology together. And he saved me from the car crash?" I waggled my eyebrows at him, trying to get a smile.

"That will only get him so many brownie points in my book." He chomped on some deep fried fish and we began again with our meal. "What time are you leaving tonight?"

"Probably in a few minutes," I answer finishing my food and putting it in the sink.

"I'll do the dishes tonight, you get them tomorrow?" I nod and with a thank you I head to my room to grab my bag. It wasn't too long till I heard the doorbell ring echo through the house.

"Edward! Nice to see you again, son."

"Thanks, Chief Swan," Edward said in a respectful voice. "It's nice to see you too."

"Go ahead and call me Charlie. Here, I'll take your jacket."

"Thanks, sir."

"Have a seat there, Edward."

I grimaced as I made my way to the living room.

Edward sat down fluidly in the only chair, forcing me to sit next to Daddy dearest on the sofa. I quickly shot him a dirty look. He winked behind Charlie's back.

"So I hear you're letting my girl watch you play baseball," Dad commented. Only in Forks, Washington did it not matter that it would be raining cats and dogs when playing an outside sport.

"Yes, sir, that's the plan." He didn't look surprised that I'd told my father the truth. He might have been listening, though, that wouldn't surprise me. The little eavesdropper he is.

"Well, she's always loved baseball, you got lucky," Dad let out a laugh, and Edward gladly joined in.

"Yes, I am. She is magnificent."

"Okay." I stood up. "Enough humor at my expense. Let's go, no more Dad and boyfriend scare tactics." I walked back to the hall and pulled on my jacket. They followed on my heels.

"Not too late, Gwen."

"Don't worry, Charlie, I'll have her home early," Edward promised, taking my hand in his after putting his own jacket on.

"You take care of my girl, all right?"

I groaned, but they both ignored me. "She'll be safe with me, I promise, sir." Charlie couldn't doubt Edward's sincerity, it rang in every word he spoke. I stalked out, stomping like a kid. They both laughed, and Edward followed me.

I stopped dead on the porch. There, behind my truck, was a monster Jeep. Its tires were higher than my waist. There were metal guards over the headlights and tail-lights, and four large spotlights attached to the crash bar. The body was a shiny silver and its hardtop a matte black.

Dad let out a low whistle.

"Wear your seatbelts," he managed to choke out in his daze. This car was something out of a dream for Dad.

Edward followed me around to my side and opened the door. I gauged the distance to the seat and prepared to jump for it. He only laughed and lift me into the vehicle with one hand. As he went around to the driver's side, at a normal, human pace, I tried to put on my seat belt. But there were too many buckles.

"What's all this?" I asked when he opened the door.

"It's an off-roading harness."

"Uh-oh."

I tried to find the right places for all the buckles to fit, but it wasn't going too quickly. He sighed and reached over to help me. I was glad that the rain was too heavy to see Dad clearly on the porch. That meant he couldn't see how Edward's hands lingered on my neck, brushed along my collarbones. I gave up trying to help him and focused on not reciprocating the hand movement.

Edward turned the key and the engine roared to life. We pulled away from the house. I began to talk. "This Jeep is at least twelve of me."

His smirk widened. "It's Emmett's. I didn't think you'd want to run the whole way."

"Aren't you going to put on your seatbelt?"He threw me a disbelieving look. "Sheriff's daughter," I say, as if it explained everything. Wait a moment. "Run the whole way? As in, we're still going to run part of the way?" My voice edged up a few octaves.

He grinned tightly. "You're not going to run."

"I'm going to get sick at the end."

"Keep your eyes closed, you'll be fine." He leaned over to kiss the top of my head and then groaned. I looked at him, puzzled at his outburst.

"What's wrong?" I asked, genuinely concerned.

"You smell nice in the rain," he explained.

"Good way or bad way?" He smirks over at me, taking my hand in his and giving a small squeeze.

"Both... always both."

I don't know how he found his way in the gloom and downpour, but he somehow found a side road that was less of a road and more of a mountain path. Thus the reason for the Jeep. I kept laughing and making jokes while we made our way upwards, the seatbelts doing their job by keeping me in place but still let me rock around. And then we came to the end of the road; the trees formed green walls on three sides of the Jeep. The rain was a mere drizzle, slowing every second, the sky brighter through the clouds.

"Sorry, Birdie, we have to go on foot from here."

"I'mma just stay right here. Got a book in the back seat or something? Maybe a manual on how the car works?"

He laughed, rested his head on the seat."What happened to all your courage? You were extraordinary this morning."

"I just don't want to throw up, I had some really good food today and that is not going to go to waste." He was around to my side of the car in a blur. He started unbuckling me. "I'll get those, you go on ahead," I protested.

"Hmmm..." he mused as he quickly finished. "It seems I'm going to have to tamper with your memory."

Before I could react, he pulled me from the Jeep and set my feet on the ground. It was barely misting now; Alice was going to be right in not needing an umbrella.

"Tamper with my memory? What is this, Equilibrium?" I joke.

"Something like that." He was watching me intently, carefully, but there was humor deep in his eyes, from my joke or what he was about to do next was uncertain to me. He placed his hands against the Jeep on either side of my head and leaned forward, forcing me to press back against the door in an automatic reaction. He leaned in even closer, his face inches from mine. I had no room to escape.

"Now," he breathed, and just his smell disturbed my thought processes. This boy will give me grey hairs, I swear, "what exactly are you worried about?"

"Well, um, hitting a tree and dying. And then getting sick."

He fought back a smile. Then he bent his head down and touched his cold lips softly to the hollow at the base of my throat. "Are you still worried now?" he murmured against my skin, pressing even deeper.

"Yes." I struggled to concentrate. "About hitting trees and getting sick."

His nose drew a line up the skin of my throat to the point of my chin. His cold breath tickled my skin. "And now?" His lips whispered against my jaw.

"Trees," I gasped. "Motion sickness. I don't want to know if the food I had today tastes just as good coming up then it did going down."

He lifted his face to kiss my eyelids. "Birdie, you don't really think I would hit a tree, do you?"

"No, but I might." There was no confidence in my voice and I was putty in his hands. He smelled an easy victory.

He kissed slowly down my cheek, stopping just at the corner of my mouth. "Would I let a tree hurt you?" His lips barely brushed against my trembling lower lip.

"No," I breathed. I knew there was a second part to my brilliant defense, but I couldn't quite recall it.

"You see," he said, his lips moving against mine. "There's nothing to be afraid of, is there?"

"If I get sick, I blame it all on you," I tell him. Then he took my face in his hands almost roughly, and kissed me in earnest, his unyielding lips moving against mine. There really was no excuse for my behavior. Obviously, I knew better by now. And yet I couldn't seem to stop from reacting exactly as I had the first time. Instead of keeping safely motionless, my arms reached up to twine tightly around his neck, and I was suddenly welded to his stone figure. I sighed, and my lips parted.

He staggered back, not breaking my grip, but putting enough space between us.

"Damn it, Gwen!" he broke off, gasping. "You'll be the death of me, I swear you will."

My face made contact with his pectoral and I shook my head. "You're indestructible, shut up."

"I might have believed that before I met you. Now let's get out of here before I do something really stupid," He huffed before picking my legs up and holding me close to him.

"Don't forget to close your eyes," he warned severely.

"I don't want too," I immaturely groan. I get a raised eyebrow from Edward and I roll my eyes. "Fine." I tightly closed my eyes, in hopes not to get sick. While one hand held my body up, his other tucked my face into his neck.

And I could hardly tell we were moving beside the wind. I could feel him gliding along beneath me, but he could have been strolling down the sidewalk, the movement was so smooth. I was tempted to peek, just to see if he was really flying through the forest like before, but I resisted. It wasn't worth the thought of my lunch and dinner comin up. I contented myself with listening to his breath come and go evenly.

I wasn't quite sure we had stopped until he reached back and touched my hair.

"It's over, Birdie."

I dared to open my eyes, and, sure enough, we were at a standstill. I stiffly unlocked my stranglehold on his body and got my feet on the ground. Once Edward's arms were off of me, I decided to take it as incentive for me to try and move. That wasn't the brightest plan.

"Oh!" I huffed as I hit the wet ground. He stared at me incredulously, evidently not sure whether he was still too mad to find me funny. But my bewildered expression pushed him over the edge, and he broke into a roar of laughter. "Cool, let me die here." I started to get comfortable laying down and Edward just laughed louder.

"Get up," he laughed out, his hands gripping my waist and gently pulling me up. Once on my feet, I start stalking off towards the baseball field. "Wrong way." I pivoted and walked in the opposite direction. I crossed my arms and passed him without a glance. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"You were just mad at me, and then you're laughing," I point out.

"I wasn't mad at you," Edward sighed, reaching for my hand for me to stop.

"'Gwen, you'll be the death of me'?" I repeat the earlier words. He takes a deep breath and shakes his head.

"Can't you see?" He asks, utterly confused.

"See what?" I demanded, confused by his sudden mood swing as much as his words.

"I'm never angry with you - how could I be? Brave, trusting... warm as you are."

"Then why?" I whispered, remembering the black moods that pulled him away from me, that I'd always interpreted as well-justified frustration - frustration at my weakness, my slowness, my unruly human reactions...

He put his hands carefully on both sides of my face. "I infuriate myself," he said gently. "The way I can't seem to keep from putting you in danger. My very existence puts you at risk. Sometimes I truly hate myself. I should be stronger, I should be able to -"

I placed my hand over his mouth. "Don't. You promised me."

He took my hand, moving it from his lips, but holding it to his face. "I love you," he said. "It's a poor excuse for what I'm doing, but it's still true." It was the first time he'd said he loved me - in so many words. He might not realize it, but I certainly did. It was nice. "Now, please try to behave yourself," he continued, and he bent to softly brush his lips against mine.

I held properly still. Then I sighed. "You promised Chief Swan that you would have me home early, remember? We'd better get going." I smiled, to show I wasn't truly mad at him, I don't think I ever could be.

"Yes, ma'am."

He smiled wistfully and released all of me but one hand. He led me a few feet through the tall, wet ferns and draping moss, around a massive hemlock tree, and we were there, on the edge of an enormous open field in the lap of the Olympic peaks. It was twice the size of any baseball stadium I had seen on TV.

I could see the others all there; Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie, sitting on a bare outcropping of rock, were the closest to us, maybe a hundred yards away. Much farther out I could see Jasper and Alice, at least a quarter of a mile apart, appearing to throw something back and forth, but I never saw any ball. It looked like Carlisle was marking bases, but could they really be that far apart? Oh... Vampire speed.

When we came into view, the three on the rocks rose.

Esme started toward us. Emmett followed - but only after giving a long look at Rosalie's rear as she got closer to us.

"Was that you we heard, Edward?" Esme asked as she approached, her arm entangled with Rosalie's.

"It sounded like a bear choking," Emmett clarified.

I smiled at them tentatively. "Oh yeah, probably."

"Gwen was being unintentionally funny," Edward explained, his arm coming around my waist now.

"I'd say," Rosalie evaluates. "I've never heard you laugh so loud in years."

Alice had begun to leave her position and was running, or dancing, toward us. She hurtled to a fluid stop at our feet. "It's time," she announced.

As soon as she spoke, a deep rumble of thunder shook the forest beyond us, and then crashed westward toward town.

"Eerie, isn't it?" Emmett said with easy familiarity, winking at me.

"Let's go." Alice reached for Emmett's hand and they darted toward the oversized field; she ran like a gazelle. He was nearly as graceful and just as fast - yet Emmett could never be compared to a gazelle. More like a really big wildebeest, but one trained to be a ballerina.

"Are you ready for some ball?" Edward asked, his eyes eager, bright.

"Yes!" I was nearly jumping in excitement.

He snickered at my enthusiasm and, after mussing my hair, bounded off after the other two. His run was more aggressive, a cheetah rather than a gazelle or wildebeest, and he quickly overtook them. The grace and power took my breath away.

"Shall we go down?" Esme asked in her soft, melodic voice, I turned to her with a smile and nodded. She seemed to want to keep at least a foot of distance between us, for her sake or mine, I wasn't certain.

"You don't play with them?" I asked shyly.

"No, I prefer to referee - I like keeping them honest," she explained.

"They cheat a lot then?"

"Oh yes - you should hear the arguments they get into! Actually, I hope you don't, you would think they were raised by a pack of wolves."

"You sound like the stereotypical mom," I tell her with a grin.

She laughed, too. "Well, I do think of them as my children in most ways. I never could get over my mothering instincts - did Edward tell you I had lost a child?"

"No," I murmured, stunned, scrambling to understand what lifetime she was remembering.

"Yes, my first and only baby. He died just a few days after he was born, the poor tiny thing," she sighed. "It broke my heart - that's why I jumped off the cliff, you know," she added matter-of-factly.

"Edward only told me that you fell," I confess.

"Always the gentleman." She smiled. "Edward was the first of my new sons. I've always thought of him that way, even though he's older than I, in one way at least." She smiled at me warmly. "That's why I'm so happy that he's found you, dear." The endearment sounded very natural on her lips. "He's been the odd man out for far too long; it's hurt me to see him alone."

"You don't mind, then?" I asked, hesitant again. "That I'm... all wrong for him?"

"No." She was thoughtful. "You're what he wants. What he needs. It will work out, somehow, so that means you're right for him," she said. Another peal of thunder began, I instinctively grabbed her hand, not even noticing till we started walking even closer together by the time we reached the edge of the field.

Esme stopped then. It looked as if they had formed teams. Edward was far out in left field, Carlisle stood between the first and second bases, and Alice held the ball, positioned on the spot that must be the pitcher's mound.

Emmett was swinging an aluminum bat; it whistled almost untraceably through the air. I waited for him to approach home plate, but then I realized, as he took his stance, that he was already there - farther from the pitcher's mound than I would have thought possible from my experience watching the pros on TV. Jasper stood several feet behind him, catching for the other team. Of course, none of them had gloves on, probably a hindrance to their abilities.

"All right," Esme called in a clear voice, which I knew even Edward would hear, as far out as he was. "Batter up."

Alice stood straight, deceptively motionless. Her style seemed to be stealth rather than an intimidating windup. She held the ball in both hands at her waist, and then, like the strike of a cobra, her right hand flicked out and the ball smacked into Jasper's hand.

"Strike one," I said under my breath, Esme nodded in a form of confirmation.

Jasper hurled the ball back to Alice's waiting hand. She permitted herself a brief grin. And then her handspun out again This time the bat somehow made it around in time to smash into the ball that was naked to my human eyes. The crack of impact was shattering, thunderous; it echoed off the mountains - I immediately understood the necessity of the thunderstorm in order to play.

And with it, the ball flew into the trees, unable to be seen and much too far from my puny eyesight.

"That has to be a home run."

"Wait," Esme cautioned, listening intently, one hand raised. Emmett was a blur around the bases, Carlisle shadowing him. I realized Edward was missing from the roster.

"Out!" Esme cried in a clear voice. I stared in disbelief as Edward sprang from the fringe of the trees, ball in his upraised hand, his wide grin visible even to me.

"Emmett hits the hardest," Esme explained, "but Edward runs the fastest."

"Of course he does," I jokingly reply, leaning onto my left leg.

The inning continued before my eyes. It was impossible to keep up with the speed at which the ball flew, the rate at which their bodies raced around the field. But overall, it was fun, the atmosphere (though I was unsure if that was Jasper's doing or my own) was calm and family friendly.

I learned the other reason they waited for a thunderstorm to play when Jasper, trying to avoid Edward's infallible fielding, hit a ground ball toward Carlisle. Carlisle ran into the ball, and then raced Jasper to first base. When they collided, the sound was like the crash of two massive falling boulders. I jumped up in concern, but they were somehow unscathed.

"Safe," Esme called in a calm voice.

Emmett's team was up by one - Rosalie managed to flit around the bases after tagging up on one of Emmett's long flies - when Edward caught the third out. He sprinted to my side, sparkling with excitement.

"Okay, I'm cheering for the underdogs now," I tell him. He scoffs.

"Why don't you give it a try?" he proposed, causing a splitting grin to make its way onto my face.

"Yeah, that'll happen." He only shook his head.

"Rosalie, mind pitching?" he asks, the blonde nods and grabs the ball and soon enough a bat is put into my hand. "Come on, trust me."

I took a deep breath but ultimately did as he asked. "Alright, fine." I make it to the designated home plate and give a few swings. "Uh, go easy on me?" I ask the Aphrodite who only smiles at me.

"Eh, we'll see." And, compared to Alice, Rosalie looked like she was pitching to a six year old, underhand. I actually manage to hit it first try (Leg coordination? The worst thing you'll ever see. Arm coordination? Better than average.) and it bounces off of the bat with a clunk, before I could go a step into the direction of the first plate I was picked up in cool and toned arms that carried me to first base at a decent speed compared to the others.

Me and whoever was carrying me made it to second base and stayed there. Once my feet were touching the ground I looked to see who was my captor, and it turned to be no one but Edward, who had the widest smile I had yet to see on him.

Next up to bat was Carlisle, and when he hit it, he hit it. This allowed Edward and I to get home plate lickedy split, barely even running in Edward's arms.

"Safe!" Esme announced and I giggled before being let go, my feet finally touching the ground.

"Good job, Gwen!" Alice kissed my cheek and I immediately blushed from the affection.

"Thanks," I replied. "But it was all Edward, I barely even hit the ball."

"You still did it." A kiss on my cheek from Edward. "I'm proud of you. But you also scored my team a point." I splutter at this, feeling his 'maniacal' plan come to life. His face becomes even more amused but is turned away from me, looking up and notices Jasper had already gone and was standing on third base. "I'm up," he tells me with a wink.

He played intelligently, keeping the ball low, out of the reach of Rosalie's always-ready hand who was now in the outfield, gaining two bases like lightning before Emmett could get the ball back in play. Carlisle swung the bat again, and knocked one so far out of the field - with a boom that hurt my ears - that he and Edward both made it in. Alice slapped them dainty high fives from where she stood next to me.

The score constantly changed as the game continued, and they razzed each other like any streetball players as they took turns with the lead. Occasionally Esme would call them to order. The thunder rumbled on, but we stayed dry, as Alice had predicted.

Carlisle was up to bat, Edward was catching now, the teams changed. This was the moment when Alice suddenly gasped. My eyes turned from watching his form get ready for the ball. Our eyes met, then her sights turned to Edward and something flowed between them in an instant. He was at my side before the others could ask Alice what was wrong.

"Alice?" Esme's voice was tense.

"I didn't see - I couldn't tell," she whispered. All the others were gathered by this time, worried.

"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked with the calm voice of authority.

"They were traveling much quicker than I thought. I can see I had the perspective wrong before," she murmured to herself, almost mad.

Jasper leaned over her, his posture protective. "What changed?" he asked.

"They heard us playing, and it changed their path," she said, contrite as if she felt responsible for whatever had frightened her.

"How soon?" Carlisle said, turning toward Edward.

A look of intense concentration crossed his face. "Less than five minutes. They're running - they want to play."


	20. Chickadee and Badger

**Author's Note**

 **I recently got some reviews based on my story that I can't really reply too. So, I'm going to try _here_. 1) Gwen is indeed Jacob's cousin, her mother is sister to Billy if that was hard to understand. 2) I had previously mentioned that Charlie had some Philipino blood, which would make sense in my stupid head based off of his physical attributes that are described in the book. But he's mainly white - obviously. 3) If you've ever had switched parents due to custody reasons or because of endangerment, doesn't matter the reason (trust me, been there done that - I even had my own parent's help trying to do it). It can be _extremely_ hard to change your last name while being under the age of eighteen. Gwen's mom -Lori- was married to William Abendorth. She had dropped the last name Black and taken Abendorth as her legal last name while pregnant with Gwen. Thus, putting it on Gwen too when she was born.**

 **I kind of thought this was understood, but eh. You win some, you lose some. Now, I hope you enjoy! (In the next few chapters we'll be going into some AU territory, but I'm going to be making a poll real quick here for some questions for you - the reader! I'll put the link at the bottom, just take out the spaces in order to get to the site!)**

* * *

"Can you make it?" Carlisle asked Edward, his eyes flicking toward my tense body. I was in the dark compared to the others, they understood what Alice had meant. But I could get the jist of it. Nomads, as Edward had put it, were heading here. And not the ones with golden eyes, the eyes that signaled their allegiance.

"No, not carrying -" He cut short. "Besides, the last thing we need is for them to catch the scent and start hunting."

"How many?" Emmett asked Alice.

"Three," she answered tersely.

"Three!" he scoffed. "Let them come." The steel bands of muscle flexed along his massive arms.

For a split second that seemed much longer than it really was, Carlisle deliberated. Only Emmett seemed decided; the rest stared at Carlisle's face with anxious eyes unable to decide the next course of action.

"Let's just continue the game," Carlisle finally decided. His voice was cool and level. "Alice said they were simply curious."

All this was said in a flurry of words that lasted only a few seconds. I had listened carefully and caught most of it, though I couldn't hear what Esme now asked Edward with a silent vibration of her lips. I only saw the slight shake of his head and the look of relief on her face that thenn became directed to me.

"You catch, Esme," Edward said, handing her the ball with a flick of his wrist. "I'll call it now." And he planted himself in front of me.

The others returned to the field, warily sweeping the dark forest with their sharp eyes. Alice and Esme seemed to orient themselves around where I stood despite their positions.

"Take your hair down," Edward said in a low, even voice.

I obediently slid the rubber band out of my hair and shook it out around me, tucking it more into my coat than before, even lifting the collar to come farther around my neck and zipping it up to my chin.

"Should I just stand behind you?" I question.

"Yes, stay very still, keep quiet, and don't move from my side, please." He hid the stress in his voice well, but I could hear it. He pulled my long hair forward even more around my face, dragging my bangs more forward to cover my eyes. Pressing them down to where it tickled my nose.

"That won't help," Alice said softly. "I could smell her across the field."

"I know." A hint of frustration colored his tone. I tried to think of something, what would mask a human's scent? I came up with nothing. Alice had some form of an idea, taking off her baseball cap and putting it on me. "That helps," he sighed out, taking a whiff of my person.

Carlisle stood at the plate, and the others joined the game halfheartedly.

"What did Esme ask you?" I whispered, curious at the way she had looked at me with such a high degree of relief.

He hesitated for a second before he answered. "Whether they were thirsty," he muttered unwillingly. I swallowed deeply and help a beath I felt like I couldn't breathe for a few moments.

The seconds ticked by; the game progressed with apathy now. No one dared to hit harder than a bunt, and Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper hovered in the infield. Now and again, despite the fear that numbed my brain, I was aware of Rosalie's eyes on me. They were expressionless, but something about the way she held her mouth made me think she was angry at me. Hell, I think I would be too.

Edward paid no attention to the game at all, eyes and mind ranging the forest no doubt scanning for the people who dared to come in their territory.

"I'm sorry, Birdie," he muttered fiercely. "It was stupid, irresponsible, to expose you like this. I'm so sorry."

All things stopped, the sounds of intruders to the land becoming more and more apparent. Only faint to my human ears.

They emerged one by one from the forest edge, ranging a dozen meters apart. The first male into the clearing fell back immediately, allowing the other male to take the front, orienting himself around the tall, dark-haired man in a manner that clearly displayed who led the pack. The third was a woman; from this distance, all I could see of her was that her hair was a startling shade of red that could not be tamed.

They closed ranks before they continued cautiously toward the Cullens, exhibiting the natural respect of a troop of predators as it encounters a larger, unfamiliar group of its own kind.

As they approached, I could see how different they were from the Cullens. Their walk was catlike, a gait that seemed constantly on the edge of shifting into a crouch. They dressed in the ordinary gear of backpackers: jeans and casual button-down shirts in heavy, weatherproof fabrics. The clothes were frayed, though, with wear, and they were barefoot. Both men had decently long hair - one pulled into a ponytail and the other with dreads that came slightly past his collarbones, but the woman's brilliant orange hair was filled with leaves and debris from the woods. Her wild mane covered her, almost being hidden in the curls. Her eyes were barely a difference in shade compared to her hair. Maybe only the slightest bit darker.

Their sharp eyes carefully took in the more polished, urbane stance of Carlisle, who, flanked by Emmett and Jasper, stepped guardedly forward to meet them. Without any seeming communication between them, they each straightened into a more casual, erect bearing.

The man in front was easily the most welcoming of the three, his complexion was a warm mahogany beneath the typical pallor, his hair as mentioned before was a glossy black with dreads that looked as if it came straight from a barber shop this morning. He was of a medium build, hard-muscles, of course, but nothing next to Emmett's brawn - I don't think anyone could match it. He smiled an easy smile, exposing a flash of gleaming white teeth.

The woman was wilder, her eyes shifting restlessly between the men facing her, and the loose grouping around me, her chaotic hair quivering in the slight breeze. Her posture was distinctly feline. The second male hovered unobtrusively behind them, slighter than the leader, his dirty blonde hair and regular features both nondescript. His eyes, though completely still, somehow seemed the most vigilant. But his jacket was disturbingly recognizable. Waylon's.

Their eyes were different, too. Not the gold or black I had come to expect, but a deep burgundy color that was disturbing and sinister. They drank from humans. The legends could tell me that at the very least.

The dark-haired man, still smiling, stepped toward Carlisle. "We thought we heard a game," he said in a relaxed voice with the slightest of French accents. "I'm Laurent, these are Victoria and James." He gestured to the vampires beside him.

"I'm Carlisle. This is my family, Emmett and Jasper, Rosalie, Esme and Alice, Edward and Gwendolyn." He pointed us out in groups, deliberately not calling attention to individuals. I felt Alice come closer to me from my right side, the cap I had donned on coming onto my brows, made it a bit harder to see the intruders from this angle.

"Do you have room for a few more players?" Laurent asked sociably.

Carlisle matched Laurent's friendly tone. "Actually, we were just finishing up. But we'd certainly be interested another time. Are you planning to stay in the area for long?"

"We're headed north, in fact, but we were curious to see who was in the neighborhood. We haven't run into any company in a long time."

"No, this region is usually empty except for us and the occasional visitor, like yourselves." The tense atmosphere had slowly subsided into a casual conversation; If I had to have guessed, I would say Jasper was using his peculiar gift to control the situation.

"What's your hunting range?" Laurent casually inquired.

Carlisle ignored the assumption behind the inquiry. "The Olympic Range here, up and down the Coast Ranges on occasion. We keep a permanent residence nearby. There's another permanent settlement like ours up near Denali."

Laurent rocked back on his heels slightly, baffled by something the clan leader said. "Permanent? How do you manage that?" There was an honest curiosity in his voice.

"Why don't you come back to our home with us and we can talk comfortably?" Carlisle invited. "It's a rather long story."

James and Victoria exchanged a surprised look at the mention of the word 'home' but Laurent controlled his expression better.

"That sounds very interesting and welcome." His smile was genial. "We've been on the hunt all the way down from Ontario, and we haven't had the chance to clean up in a while." His eyes moved appreciatively over Carlisle's refined appearance.

"Please don't take offense, but we'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from hunting in this immediate area. We have to stay inconspicuous, you understand," Carlisle explained.

"Of course." Laurent nodded. "We certainly won't encroach on your territory. We just ate outside of Seattle, anyway," he laughed. A shiver ran up my spine. Waylon... his body was found twenty miles from Seattle. Was that who they spoke of so casually? Who had they killed in their need of survival? I wish they had chosen someone else, as sick and twisted as that may sound.

"We'll show you the way if you'd like to run with us - Emmett and Alice, you can go with Edward and Gwendolyn to get the Jeep," he casually added.

Three things seemed to happen simultaneously while Carlisle was speaking. My dark hair ruffled with the light breeze, Edward stiffened, and the second male, James, suddenly whipped his head around, scrutinizing me, his nostrils flaring. A swift rigidity fell on all of them as James lurched one step forward into a crouch. Edward bared his teeth, crouching in defense, a feral snarl ripping from his throat.

It was nothing like the playful sounds I'd heard from him this morning; it was the single most menacing thing I had ever heard fall from his own lips, and chills ran from the crown of my head to the back of my heels.

"What's this?" Laurent exclaimed in open surprise. Neither James nor Edward relaxed their aggressive poses. James feinted slightly to the side, and Edward shifted in response. Alice grabbed my waist and while Rosalie's other look had appeared menacing earlier was nothing to now, she came to me as well, grabbing my hand and putting a hand on my shoulder, as if to keep me away from them.

"She's with us." Carlisle's firm rebuff was directed toward James. Laurent seemed to catch my scent less powerfully than James, but awareness now dawned on his face.

"You brought a snack?" James menacingly asked, a smirk making it's way across his face. Laurent's expression was incredulous as he took an involuntary step forward. Edward snarled even more ferociously, harshly, his lip curling high above his bared teeth. Laurent stepped back again.

"I said she's with us," Carlisle corrected in a hard voice.

"But she's human," Laurent protested. The words were not at all aggressive, merely astounded.

"Yes," Emmett growled. His stance became much more aggravated and was very much in evidence at Carlisle's side that he would have to try and best him and undoubtedly lose. Carlisle's golden eyes were on James. James slowly straightened out of his crouch, but his eyes never left me, his nostrils still wide. Edward stayed tensed like a lion in front of me, backing up the slowest bit to become welded to my front where his sisters weren't at my sides.

When Laurent spoke, his tone was soothing - trying to defuse the sudden hostility. "It appears we have a lot to learn about each other."

"Indeed." Carlisle's voice was still cool.

"But we'd like to accept your invitation." His eyes flicked toward me and back to Carlisle. "And, of course, we will not harm the human girl. We won't hunt in your range, as I said."

James glanced in disbelief and aggravation at Laurent and exchanged another brief look with Victoria, whose eyes still flickered edgily from face to face of the coven.

Carlisle measured Laurent's open expression for a moment before he spoke. "We'll show you the way. Jasper, Rosalie, Esme?" he called. They gathered together, blocking me from view as they converged. Alice refused to let her arm off of my waist, as if she was a seatbelt herself. Emmett fell back slowly with us, his eyes locked on James as he backed toward us.

"Let's go, Birdie." Edward's voice was low and bleak.

This whole time I'd been rooted in place, with his word's in mind. Don't move. Edward had to grip my elbow and pull sharply to break my trancelike state, moving my feet to keep up with his pace. My legs were in the back of my mind at this point, only getting away from the Cold Ones that had killed Waylon left in my mind. Alice finally broke her hold on me and Rosalie's arms disentangled themselves from my shoulder. Emmett became extra close behind us, hiding me from the nomads with his overly large posture. I kept pace with Edward, still stunned with fear. I couldn't hear if the main group had left yet. Edward's impatience was almost tangible as we moved at human speed to the forest edge.

Once we were into the trees, Edward slung me over his back without breaking stride. I gripped as tightly as possible as he took off, the others close on his heels. I kept my head down, but my eyes, wide with fright, wouldn't close. They plunged through the now-black forest like wraiths. The sense of exhilaration that usually seemed to possess Edward as he ran was completely absent, replaced by a fury that consumed him and drove him still faster. Even with me on his back, the others trailed behind.

We reached the Jeep in an impossibly short time, and Edward barely slowed as he flung me in the backseat.

"Strap her in," he ordered Emmett, who slid in beside me.

Alice was already in the front seat, and Edward was starting the engine. It roared to life and we swerved backward, spinning around to face the winding mountain path. Edward was growling something too fast for me to understand, but it sounded a lot like a string of profanities. And if we weren't in this situation, I'd probably make fun of him for it. But we were in this situation, and we couldn't do a thing about it.

The jolting trip seemed longer this time, without the laughter throughout the car and the jokes and small words it made it mortifying, and the darkness only made it even more so. Emmett and Alice both glared out the side windows.

We hit the main road, and though our speed increased, I could see much better where we were going. And we were headed south, away from Forks.

"Where are we going?" I asked. No one answered. No one even looked at me as I spoke. "Dammit, Edward! Where are you taking me?"

"We have to get you away from here - far away - now." He didn't look back, his eyes on the road. The speedometer read a hundred and five miles an hour.

"Turn around! You have to take me home!" I shouted. I struggled with the stupid harness, tearing at the straps.

"Emmett," Edward said grimly. Ice cold hands grabbed mine and I couldn't fight the behemoth off of me. "I have to, Gwen, now please be quiet."

"I won't! You have to take me back - Dad will call the FBI! They'll be all over your family - Carlisle and Esme! They'll have to leave, to hide forever!"

"Calm down, Gwen." His voice was cold. "We've been there before."

"Not over me, you haven't! You're not ruining everything over me!" I struggled violently, with total futility. At this rate I would probably dislocate my shoulder or something. "Besides! This is my life too, remember what I said?" It felt a million years ago compared to now. "Democratic country, we vote. You can't choose what to do for me, Edward! It's not healthy!"

Alice spoke for the first time. "Edward, pull over."

He flashed her a hard look, and then the rumbling of the engine went off as the car sped up even more.

"Edward, let's just talk this through."

"You don't understand," he roared in frustration. I'd never heard his voice so loud; it was deafening in the confines of the Jeep. The speedometer neared one hundred and fifteen now. "He's a tracker, Alice, did you see that? He's a tracker!"

I felt Emmett stiffen next to me, and I wondered at his reaction to the word. It meant something more to the three of them than it did to me; I wanted to understand, but now wasn't the time. All I needed to know, was that's not a good thing.

"Pull over, Edward." Alice's tone was reasonable, but there was a ring of authority in it I'd never heard before.

The speedometer inched passed one-twenty.

"Do it, Edward."

"Listen to me, Alice. I saw his mind. Tracking is his passion, his obsession - and he wants her, Alice - her, specifically. He begins the hunt tonight."

"He doesn't know where -"

He interrupted her. "How long do you think it will take him to cross her scent in town? His plan was already set before the words were out of Laurent's mouth."

I gasped, knowing where my scent would lead. "Dad! You can't leave him there! You can't leave him!" I thrashed against the harness once more with more vigor.

"She's right," Alice said.

The car slowed just the slightest bit, maybe he was listening to reason.

"Let's just look at our options for a minute," Alice coaxed.

The car slowed again, more noticeably, and then suddenly we screeched to a stop on the shoulder of the highway. I flew against the harness, and then slammed back into the seat.

"There are no options," Edward hissed.

"I'm not leaving my dad!" I yelled. He ignored me completely. "Damn it, Edward! Listen to reason, you have to take me back."

"We have to take her back," Emmett finally spoke, echoing my words.

"No." Edward was absolute in the decision.

"He's no match for us, Edward. He won't be able to touch her."

"He'll wait."

Emmett smiled devilishly. "I can wait, too."

"You didn't see - you don't understand. Once he commits to a hunt, he's unshakable. We'd have to kill him."

Emmett didn't seem upset by the idea. "That's an option."

"And the female. She's with him. If it turns into a fight, the leader will go with them, too."

"There are enough of us."

"There's another option," Alice said quietly.

Edward turned on her in fury, his voice a blistering snarl. "There - is - no - other - option!"

Emmett and I both stared at him in shock, but Alice seemed unsurprised. The silence lasted for a long minute as Edward and Alice stared each other down.

I broke it. "Does anyone want to hear my plan?"

"No," Edward growled. Alice glared at him, finally provoked.

"Listen," I pleaded. "You take me back." He started growling at me. "Don't you start with me, Edward Anthony! You will take me home, and I'll give an excuse as to why I won't be home for the rest of spring break. We wait till this tracker is watching before I give the excuse, and then we run. He'll follow us and leave my dad alone. He won't call the FBI on your family. Then you can take me any damned place you want, sound good?!"

They stared at me, stunned at my outburst. I don't think I had ever yelled like that in my life.

"It's not a bad idea, really." Emmett's surprise was definitely an insult towards me and I would have been insulted had I enough time to be.

"It might work - and we simply can't leave her father unprotected. You know that," Alice said.

Everyone looked at Edward for confirmation. "It's too dangerous - I don't want him within a hundred miles of her."

Emmett was supremely confident in his abilities. "Edward, he's not getting through us."

Alice thought for a minute, her face becoming dazed. "I don't see him attacking. He'll try to wait for us to leave her alone."

"It won't take long for him to realize that's not going to happen."

"You have to take me home," I demanded. Edward pressed his fingers to his temples and squeezed his eyes shut. "Edward," I began to plead. "Come on. You know you have too."

"I'll say I invited her to a spa week, in Seattle," Alice added. "He'll accept and we can take her where ever we want. If it goes any longer than a week we'll figure some other excuse."

He didn't look up from his lap. When he spoke, his voice sounded worn and older. "You're leaving tonight, whether the tracker sees or not. You tell Charlie that you need to leave, with Alice, to go see some old friends, I don't care. Tell him whatever story works. Pack the first things your hand's touch, and then get in your truck. I don't care what he says to you. You have fifteen minutes. Do you hear me? Fifteen minutes from the time you cross the doorstep." The Jeep rumbled to life, and he spun us around, the tires squealing. The needle on the speedometer started to race up the dial.

"Emmett?" I asked, looking pointedly at my hands.

"Oh, sorry." He let me loose.

"It's cool," I tell him, rubbing where his makeshift manacles were wrapped around my wrist.

A few minutes passed in silence, other than the roar of the engine. Then Edward spoke again. "This is how it's going to happen. When we get to the house, if the tracker is not there, I will walk her to the door. Then she has fifteen minutes." He glared at me in the rearview mirror. "Emmett, you take the outside of the house. Alice, you get the truck. I'll be inside as long as she is. After she's out, you two can take the Jeep home and tell Carlisle."

"No way," Emmett broke in. "I'm with you."

"Think it through, Emmett. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

"Until we know how far this is going to go, I'm with you."

Edward sighed. "If the tracker is there," he continued grimly, "we keep driving."

"We're going to make it there before him," Alice said confidently. Edward seemed to accept that. Whatever his problem with Alice was, he didn't doubt her now. "What are we going to do with the Jeep?" she asked.

His voice had a hard edge. "You're driving it home."

"No, I'm not," she said calmly.

The unintelligible stream of profanities started again.

"We can't all fit in my truck," I whispered.

Edward didn't appear to hear me.

"I think you should let me go alone," I said even more quietly.

He heard that though.

"Gwen, please just do this my way, just this once," he said between clenched teeth.

"Listen, Dad's not a complete idiot," I protested. "If you're not in town tomorrow, he's going to get suspicious. We should have Alice take me to the door, tell him what we're going to do. A spa day. She'll give him details and we'll take my truck over to your place."

"No!" Edward growled yet again. "I'm not leaving you. I refuse too."

"Then what about this tracker? He saw the way you acted tonight. He's going to think you're with me, wherever you are."

Emmett looked at me, insultingly surprised again. "Edward, listen to her," he urged. "I think she's right."

"Yes, she is," Alice agreed.

"I can't do that." Edward's voice was icy.

"Emmett should stay, too," I continued. "He definitely got an eyeful of Emmett."

"What?" Emmett turned on me.

"You'll get a better crack at him if you stay," Alice agreed once more.

Edward stared at her incredulously. "You think I should let her go alone?"

"Of course not," Alice said. "Jasper and I will take her. Rosalie may want to come with too."

"I can't do that," Edward repeated, but this time there was a trace of defeat in his voice. The logic was working on him, finally.

I tried to be persuasive. "Hang out here for a few days. Let Dad see you haven't kidnapped me, and lead the tracker on a wild-goose chase. Make sure he's completely off my trail. Then come and meet me. Take a roundabout route, of course, and then Jasper and Alice can go home."

I could see him beginning to consider it.

"Meet you where?"

"Seattle, of course."

"No. He'll hear that's where you're going," he said impatiently.

"And you'll make it look like that's a ruse, obviously. He'll know that we'll know that he's listening. He'll never believe I'm actually going where I say I am going."

"She's diabolical," Emmett chuckled.

"And if that doesn't work?"

"There are several hundred-thousand people in Seattle," I informed him. He still wasn't keen on the idea.

"Edward, we'll be with her," Alice reminded him.

"I kind of like it." Emmett was thinking about cornering James, no doubt.

"Shut up, Emmett."

"Look, if we try to take him down while she's still around, there's a much better chance that someone will get hurt - she'll get hurt, or you will, trying to protect her. Now, if we get him alone..." He trailed off with a slow smile. I was right.

The Jeep was crawling slowly along now as we drove into town. Despite my brave talk, I could feel the hairs on my arms standing up. I thought about Dad, alone in the house, and tried to be courageous.

"Gwen." Edward's voice was very soft. Alice and Emmett looked out their windows. "If you let anything happen to yourself- anything at all - I'm holding you personally responsible. Do you understand that?"

"Crystal," I replied, putting my hand on his shoulder in some form of comfort.

One hand of his reached to massage mine, his other on the wheel. Edward turned to Alice. "Can Jasper handle this?"

"Give him some credit, Edward. He's been doing very, very well, all things considered."

"Can you handle this?" he asked her.

And graceful little Alice pulled back her lips in a horrific grimace and let loose with a guttural snarl that had me nearly cowering against the seat in terror.

Edward smiled at her. "But keep your opinions to yourself," he muttered suddenly, turning onto my street.

All the lights were on at the front of the house. I could see the faint blue light from the TV that accompanied the orange hues from the lamps that sat on the side table next to the couch. "Damn it!" Alice hissed, unable to contain her new found anger.

"Alice?" Emmett asked, leaning forward.

"Those stupid dogs!" was all she hissed before explaining. "Your uncle just invited you to stay at their house for the remainder of the week, your dad will say yes, no matter what I say. He thinks you're ignoring your family."

I groaned and began unbuckling. "Plan B," I whisper to myself.

"Plan B?" Emmett asked for clarification.

"I'm going to act mad, he's going to think I need to get out of Forks for a bit. I'll say I'm going to Seattle for the remainder of the week, just to cool down. Say I'm going to go see Amy or Scott - something!, I don't know, improv." I shrug, starting to sit a bit forwards into the seat now that some of the straps had come off.

Edward pulled up slowly, staying well back from my truck. All three of them were acutely alert, ramrod straight in their seats, listening to every sound of the wood, looking through every shadow, catching every scent, searching for something out of place. Where could he be if he wasn't here?

"He's not here," Edward said tensely. "Let's go." Emmett reached over to help me undo the rest of the harness where I was still struggling.

"Don't worry, Gwen," he said in a low but cheerful voice, it was reassuring to my ears. "we'll take care of things here quickly."

I felt moisture filling up my eyes as I looked at Emmett. I barely knew him, and yet, somehow, not knowing when I would see him again after tonight felt anguishing. I knew this was just a faint taste of the goodbyes I would have to survive in the next hour, and the thought made the tears begin to spill.

"Alice, Emmett." Edward's voice was a command. They slithered soundlessly into the darkness, instantly disappearing. Edward opened my door and took my hand, then drew me into the protecting enclosure of his arm. He walked me swiftly toward the house, eyes always roving through the night.

"Fifteen minutes," he warned under his breath.

"I can do this." I sniffled. My tears had given me an inspiration, a sick, gross inspiration. But it will work if I do this right. I stopped on the porch and took hold of his face in my hands. I looked fiercely into his eyes. "I love you," I said in a low, intense voice. "I will always love you, no matter what happens now."

"Nothing is going to happen to you, Birdie," he said just as fiercely.

"Just follow the plan, okay? Keep my father safe for me. He's not going to like me very much after this, and I want to have the chance to apologize later for my actions."

"Get inside, love. We have to hurry." His voice was urgent.

"One more thing," I whispered passionately. "Don't listen to another word I say tonight." He was leaning in, and so all I had to do was stretch up on my toes to kiss his surprised, frozen lips with as much force as I was capable of.

Then I turned and kicked the door open.

"Get the hell away from me, Edward!" I yelled at him, running inside and slamming the door shut on his still-shocked face.

"Gwen?" Dad had been hovering in the living room, and he was already on his feet, ready to get in his defensive Dad Mode.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed at him through my tears, which were flowing relentlessly now. I ran up the stairs to my room, throwing the door shut and locking it. I ran to my bed, flinging myself on the floor to retrieve my duffel bag, the one I had used before for hospital excursions that happened when I was younger. I reached swiftly between the mattress and box spring to grab the knotted old sock that contained my secret cash hoard, nearly three hundred dollars over the past nine years, not spending a dime of it but for books and gifts for family.

Dad began pounding on my door in earnest. "Gwen? Sweetheart, are you alright?!" He sounded frightened. He was afraid. I could practically feel what he was thinking, about the time I was in a deep dark place. The place I refused to fight. The place I wouldn't talk to him. It was only last year that it happened, I imagined the doctors warned him of a relapse sooner or later.

"Go away!" I screamed, my voice cracking just perfectly. But it wasn't an act, the tears falling down my face came like bullets and I felt even worse than I had ever before.

"Did he hurt you?" His tone edged to anger at the thought.

"No!" I call back, putting a few shirts and pants in the bag before grabbing some underwear. While turning, I watched Edward stuff other things in, like my wallet and charger for my phone into the bag.

"Did he break up with you?" Dad sounded confused, not sure what to do, how to comfort his daughter when it came to the boys. That was always Aunt Sarah's role - now Sue's role in my life.

"No, Dad, he didn't!" I cried again, a sob choking from my throat. Edward threw another thing of clothes at me which I proceeded to unceremoniously shove into the duffel. "I broke up with him!" I shouted, zipping it close. I threw it over my shoulder before grabbing my crutches. Edward was already out of my room by now, I didn't have time to think of where he could be. I threw the door open and started for the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, throwing any pills with my name on them into the side pocket on my duffel.

"Where are you going?" he asked attempting to block my way out of the bathroom.

"I'm going to Seattle, to see - I don't know - someone. I need a girl right now, so maybe Lin or Amy. Maybe she'll let me stay for the week. Or I'll go to a motel, I just need to be completely alone," I tell him, evading his attempts to grab me.

"Well, can it wait till tomorrow? I can drive you-"

"No, Dad!" I screamed, stomping down the stairs, feeling it echo up my legs. "I need to go, right now! I can't, I can't deal with this!"

"Sweetheart, tell me what's wrong and I'll help you, to the best of my ability." The tears started to pour faster and harder. Why did he have to care so much? Why did he have to be Dad?!

"I can't, Dad! I'm broken, I can't do this! I can't do any of this! I can't be some regular teenager and pretend the world is right when I'm not! I smile and have fun, it looks nice, right? I go to school, join these clubs, make these friends, have a boyfriend and you want to know all I can think about? Is that fucking basement! The wrench, the chains, the blood! And I don't want anyone to have to deal with me because of that, Dad! I can't let anyone deal with that! So please, please, let me go." I sobbed now, all my feelings, all the things I've kept deep in the pit of my soul surfacing. Not once did I speak a lie when I said that, and I hated that I didn't lie.

Dad's eyes held tears in them now, he nodded and moved away. "Stay right there, for one moment, please?" he begged. I nodded, looking at the clock. Only six minutes had passed. I waited, the clock ticked to seven minutes now. Dad came back a few seconds later. "Here," he handed me the envelope. "There's eight hundred dollars there, go shopping, get your hair done, something. Just come back to me?" he pleaded, his hands cupping my face. I nodded, tears coming down, letting him pull me into a hug.

"I promise, Dad. I'll always come back to you. You're my best friend." I had never truly lied to my father before. I don't know if I will be able to come back from this. I can only hope I could. I felt lips touch the top of my head and I broke the embrace. "I'll call you," my voice cracked.

"You promise?"

I nodded in answer and left, opening the front door and walking to my truck. Opening the front door, I saw Dad standing, looking heartbroken. "I'll call you," I tell him. "I promise, I'll call you."

"Love you, Chikiadee." I teared up at the use of my old nickname - one I had demanded Dad to stop calling me when I became twelve.

"Love you too, Badger." I give a teary smile before throwing my bag in and starting the car, backing out and feeling my heart break with every inch I left my home.

The driver's side door opened and for a second, I thought I was in death's clutches. Instead, Edward reached for my hand. "Pull over," Edward said as the house, and Dad, disappeared behind us.

"I can drive," I said through the tears pouring down my cheeks.

His long hands unexpectedly gripped my waist, and his foot pushed mine off the gas pedal. He pulled me across his lap, wrenching my hands to become free of the wheel, and suddenly he was in the driver's seat. The truck didn't swerve an inch from where I had it.

"You wouldn't be able to find the house," he explained. Lights flared suddenly behind us. I stared out the back window, eyes wide with horror. "It's just Alice," he reassured me. He took my hand again, rubbing circles and letting me bury my face into his shoulder.

My mind was filled with the image of Dad in the doorway. "The tracker?"

"He heard the end of your performance," Edward said grimly.

"What about Dad?" I asked in dread.

"The tracker followed us. He's running behind us now."

"Can we outrun him?" I already knew the answer to the question.

"No." But he sped up as he spoke. The truck's engine whined in protest. I didn't have the strength nor the courage to say a thing about Jenny being fragile.

My plan suddenly didn't feel so brilliant to me anymore. I was staring back at Alice's headlights when the truck shuddered and a dark shadow sprung up outside the window. I gave a sharp gasp and gripped Edward's hand even harder.

"It's Emmett!" He reassured me, and wound his arm around my waist. "It's okay, Gwen," he promised. "You're going to be safe." We raced through the quiet town toward the north highway. A sob racked my body again, and I felt weak. To hell what all the therapists, psychologists, whoever said about crying wasn't weak. It made me feel like it. "What's wrong?" Edward whispered, trying to seem comforting.

"Everyone Dad loves," I reply quietly into his neck. "Everyone leaves him. Renee, Lori, his own daughter refuses to even visit him anymore - hell, she demands that he visits her in California! I don't want to be added to that list, he doesn't deserve that. He doesn't!" I said more determined about the fact.

"Don't worry. He'll forgive you." He smiled a little, though it didn't touch his eyes, not like it had a few short hours ago. I stared at him desperately, and he saw the naked panic in my eyes.

"I don't want you to leave me," I say quietly. "I know you need too, but I don't want you too."

"Gwen, it's going to be all right. We'll be together again in a few days," he said, tightening his arm around me. "Don't forget that this was your idea."

"It was the best idea - of course, it was mine," I make an attempt of the joke. His answering smile was bleak and disappeared immediately. "Why did this happen?" I asked, my voice catching. "Why me of all people?"

He stared blankly at the road ahead. "It's my fault - I was a fool to expose you like that." The rage in his voice was directed internally.

"That's not what I meant," I insisted, trying to get him from his self-hatred. "I was there, big deal. It didn't bother the other two. Why did this James decide I was his next project. There are people all over the world, so why specifically me?"

He hesitated, thinking before he answered.

"I got a good look at his mind tonight," he began in a low voice. "I'm not sure if there's anything I could have done to avoid this, once he saw you. It is partially your fault." His voice was wry. "If you didn't smell so appallingly luscious, he might not have bothered. But when I defended you... well, that made it a lot worse. He's not used to being thwarted, no matter how insignificant the object. He thinks of himself as a hunter and nothing else. His existence is consumed with tracking, and a challenge is all he asks of life. Suddenly we've presented him with a beautiful challenge - a large clan of strong fighters all bent on protecting the one vulnerable element. You wouldn't believe how euphoric he is now. It's his favorite game, and we've just made it his most exciting game ever." His tone was full of disgust. He paused a moment. "But if I had stood by, he would have killed you right then," he said with hopeless frustration.

I sat straighter, looking out at the brush... he was there, somewhere, in the darkness. "There's nothing we can do," I tell him trying to keep myself calm, if not for me then for the Cold One next to me.

"I don't think I have any choice but to kill him now," he muttered, turning onto an unknown road, my truck's lights far to dim to see the turn till we happened upon it. "Carlisle won't like it." I could now hear the tires cross the bridge, though I couldn't see the river in the dark. I knew we were getting close.

"How can you kill a vampire?"

"You've heard the legends?"

"The Spirit Warriors would rip them apart, burn the pieces."

Edward only nodded in response. "It's the only way to be sure. We'll tear him apart, burn him to a crisp."

"And the other two will fight with him?"

"The woman will. I'm not sure about Laurent. They don't have a very strong bond - he's only with them for convenience. He was embarrassed by James in the meadow..."

"But James and the woman - they'll try to kill you guys?" I asked, my voice raw.

"Don't you dare waste time worrying about the others and I. Your only concern is keeping yourself safe and - please, please - trying not to be reckless."

"Is he still following?"

"Yes. He won't attack the house, though. Not tonight."

He turned off onto the invisible drive, with Alice following behind.

We drove right up to the house. The lights inside were bright, but they did little to alleviate the blackness of the encroaching forest. Emmett had my door open before the truck was stopped; he pulled me out of the seat, tucked me like a football into his vast chest, and ran me through the door.

We burst into the large white room, Edward and Alice at our sides. All of them were there; they were already on their feet at the sound of our approach. Laurent stood in their midst. I could hear low growls rumble deep in Emmett's throat as he set me down next to Edward, putting me behind him.

"The hell is he doing here?!" Emmett snarled, coming to a crouch.

Edward spoke up, trying to diffuse the situation before it became more. "James is tracking us as we speak," he announced to the room, throwing a glare at Laurent.

Laurent's face was unhappy at the news. "I was afraid of that."

Alice danced to Jasper's side and whispered in his ear; her lips quivered with the speed of her silent speech. They flew up the stairs together. Rosalie watched them, and then moved quickly to Emmett's side. Her beautiful eyes were intense and - when they flickered unwillingly to my face - fury swam in their depths.

"What will he do?" Carlisle asked Laurent in chilling tones.

"I'm sorry," he answered. "I was afraid, when your boy there defended her, that it would set him off."

"Can you stop him?"

Laurent shook his head. "Nothing stops James when he gets started."

"We'll stop him," Emmett promised. There was no doubt what he meant, especially when he made move to 'crack' his fingers.

"You can't bring him down. I've never seen anything like him in my three hundred years. He's absolutely lethal. That's why I joined his coven." His coven, I thought, of course. The show of leadership in the clearing was merely that, a show. Laurent was shaking his head. He glanced at me, perplexed, and back to Carlisle. "Are you sure it's worth it?"

Edward's enraged roar filled the room; Laurent cringed back. Carlisle looked gravely at Laurent. "I'm afraid you're going to have to make a choice."

Laurent understood. He deliberated for a moment. His eyes took in every face, and finally swept the bright room. "I'm intrigued by the life you've created here. But I won't get in the middle of this. I bear none of you any enmity, but I won't go up against James. I think I will head north - to that clan in Denali." He hesitated. "Don't underestimate James. He's got a brilliant mind and unparalleled senses. He's every bit as comfortable in the human world as you seem to be, and he won't come at you head on... I'm sorry for what's been unleashed here. Truly sorry." He bowed his head, but I saw him flicker another puzzled look at me.

"Go in peace," was Carlisle's formal answer.

Laurent took another long look around himself, and then he hurried out the door. The silence lasted less than a second.

"How close?" Carlisle looked at Edward.

Esme was already moving; her hand touched an inconspicuous keypad on the wall, and with a groan, huge metal shutters began sealing up the glass wall.

"Well, we're ready for a zombie apocalypse," I say more to myself than anything, my voice small and tired. No one seemed to take notice of the human.

"About three miles out past the river; he's circling around to meet up with the female."

"What's the plan?"

"We'll lead him off, and then Jasper and Alice will run her to Seattle. Maybe some place even bigger."

"And then?"

Edward's tone was deadly. "As soon as Gwen is clear, we hunt him."

"I guess there's no other choice," Carlisle agreed, his face grim and reluctant to go through with the idea.

Edward turned to Rosalie. "Get her upstairs and trade clothes," Edward commanded. She stared back at him with livid disbelief.

"Why should I?" she hissed. "What is she to me? Except for a menace - a danger you've chosen to inflict on all of us. I tried, I really did. But I can't not when she's the reason someone could die." I flinched back from the venom in her voice. But she was right. I nodded just the slightest bit in agreement, barely noticeable.

"Rose..." Emmett murmured, putting one hand on her shoulder. She shook it off and looked at me. Her golden eyes staring at me, the depth of my soul. Her eyes went from tense to sorrow.

"She's right," I whisper, giving a small nod. "I'm putting everyone here in danger, what do you gain from this?"

My eyes traveled across the room and Edward's face is one I would never forget. Dark and menacing, much like how Rosalie had described me. He looked nearly disgusted with a growl ripping from his throat. Everyone in the room stood stock still till he whipped his head to his mother. "Can you switch with her, Esme?"

"Of course," Esme replied with a smile, her face breaking from the tension that was sliced through with a knife.

Esme was at my side in half a heartbeat, swinging me up easily into her arms, and dashing up the stairs before I could get a word in edgewise.

"What are we doing?" I asked breathlessly as she set me down in a dark room somewhere off the second-story hall.

"Trying to confuse the smell. It won't work for long, but it might help get you out of the area." I could hear her clothes falling to the floor.

"I don't think I'll fit..." I hesitated, but her hands were abruptly pulling my shirt over my head. I quickly stripped my jeans off myself. She handed me something, it felt like a shirt. I struggled to get my arms through the right holes. As soon as I was done she handed me her slacks. I yanked them on, but I couldn't get my feet out; they were too long. She deftly rolled the hems a few times so I could stand. Somehow she was already in my clothes. She pulled me back to the stairs, where Alice stood, a small leather bag in one hand. They each grabbed one of my elbows and half-carried me as they flew down the stairs.

It appeared that everything had been settled downstairs in our absence. Edward and Emmett were ready to leave, Emmett carrying a heavy-looking backpack over his shoulder. Carlisle was handing something small to Esme. He turned and handed Alice the same thing - it was a tiny silver cell phone.

"Esme and Rosalie will be taking your truck, Gwen," he told me as he passed. I nodded, glancing warily at Rosalie. She was glowering at Carlisle with a resentful expression. "Alice, Jasper - take the Mercedes. You'll need the dark tint in case of the sun." They nodded as well, accepting their part in this.

"We're taking the Jeep."

I was surprised to see that Carlisle intended to go with Edward. I realized suddenly, with a stab of fear, that they made up the hunting party.

"Alice," Carlisle asked, "will they take the bait?"

Everyone watched Alice as she closed her eyes and became incredibly still.

Finally, her eyes opened. "He'll track you. The woman will follow the truck. We should be able to leave after that." Her voice was certain.

"Let's go." Carlisle began to walk toward the kitchen.

But Edward was at my side at once. He caught me up in his iron grip, crushing me to him. He seemed unaware of his watching family as he pulled my face to his, lifting my feet off the floor. For the shortest second, his lips were icy and hard against mine. Then it was over. He set me down, still holding my face, his glorious eyes burning into mine. His eyes went blank, curiously dead, as he turned away.

And they were gone.

We stood there, the others looking away from me as the tears streaked noiselessly down my face.

The silent moment dragged on, and then Esme's phone vibrated in her hand. It flashed to her ear.

"Now," she said. Rosalie stalked out the front door with only a small glance in my direction, but Esme touched my cheek as she passed. "Be safe." Her whisper lingered behind them as they slipped out the door. It made me think of a real mother, one that would care for me. I heard my truck start thunderously, and then fade away.

Another ring, this time from Alice's phone. She picked it up easily, listening to the quick words before snapping it shut. "Edward says the woman is on Esme's trail. I'll get the car." She vanished into the shadows the way Edward had gone a small while ago.

I took a deep breath, trying to steel myself for what's to come. I tried not to twiddle with my hair in order to keep the only other Cold One in the room some form of comfortableness. Jasper stood there, looking at me, pity, if I had to guess.

"You're wrong, you know," he said quietly.

"What're you talking about?" I ask, moving my eyes from him.

"From what you said earlier. You're worth it. I've been with the Cullen's for the past fifty-eight years and Edward has never smiled as much as he has with you. Rosalie can stop her bullshit. You're _worth it._ "

"I'm not though," I softly argued. "There's no way I am. If one of you die, it would be for nothing. Just some little human who doesn't know better."

"You're wrong," he repeated, smiling kindly at me. I reciprocated, but I didn't doubt it was a sadder type of smile than his genuinely nice one.

"Thank you, Jasper. I know this is hard for you."

His smile only turned more into a smirk. "Well, you're family if you think you are or not. I don't let anyone hurt my family."

I heard nothing of the little pixie, but then Alice stepped through the front door and came toward me with her arms held out.

"May I?" she asked.

"You're the first one to ask permission all night," I try to lighten the mood. "So, thanks for that at the very least."

She lifted me in her slender arms as easily as Emmett had, shielding me protectively, and then we flew out the door, leaving the lights bright behind us.

* * *

www. quotev quiz/11090786/Where-Do-You-Want-The-Story-To-Go


	21. Hazy Lights

When I woke up I was confused. My thoughts were hazy, still twisted up in dreams and nightmares; it took me longer than it should have to realize where I was.

This room was impersonal but just interesting enough to not belong anywhere but in a hotel - no hospital in sight thankfully. I've awoken in them one too many times. The bedside lamps were bolted to the tables; if the room decorum wasn't a dead giveaway this was. Speaking of the decorum, the long drapes were made from the same fabric as the bedspread and the generic watercolor prints on the walls.

I tried to remember how I got here, but nothing came at first through my mind. I did remember the sleek black car, the glass in the windows darker than that on a limousine in movies. The engine was almost silent compared to my truck, though we'd raced across the black freeways at more than twice the legal speed.

And I remembered Alice sitting with me on the dark leather backseat. Somehow, during the long night, my head had ended up against her cold but the soothing neck. My closeness didn't seem to bother her at all, her breath was still steady and her body wasn't stiff as her fingers rubbed at my scalp. And her cool, hard skin was comforting to me. The front of her beautiful shirt was damp with my tears after fifteen minutes of a drive.

Sleep had begun to evade me; my aching eyes strained open even though the night finally ended and dawn broke over a low peak somewhere. I wasn't sure where we were exactly. The gray light, streaking across the cloudless sky, stung my eyes from the small crack in the curtains. But I couldn't close my eyes; when I did, the images that flashed all too vividly, like still slides behind my lids, were unbearable. Dad's broken expression - Edward's brutal snarl, teeth bared - Rosalie's resentful glare - the keen-eyed scrutiny of the tracker, James - the dead look in Edward's eyes after he kissed me the last time... I couldn't stand to see them. So I fought against my weariness and the sun rose higher as if realizing we were still going to rise.

I remembered beginning the loop around the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport... but not ending it. I suppose that must have been when I'd fallen asleep.

Though now that I'd chased the memories down, I did have a vague impression of leaving the car - the moon had made 3/4ths of its descent - my arm draped over Alice's shoulder and her arms firm around my waist, dragging me along as I stumbled through the rain, the humid air making my nose sniffle, my hair frizzier than normal too. I had no memory of this room though. Made me wonder if the receptionist thought Jasper and Alice had kidnapped me, dragging my body through the lobby as they had to have been when we got in.

I looked at the digital clock on the nightstand. The red numbers claimed it was five o'clock, I assumed in the morning. I stood, pushing the curtains back to see where I was. My room looked out onto the lawn of the hotel, the pristine green grass, and the road that led to the airport not four blocks away. The name of the hotel in a beautiful cursive on a very expensive looking board. I knew this hotel, it was in Seattle. Sam, Leah, and Seth had stayed here once to visit me. It was slightly comforting to be able to pinpoint time and place. I looked down at myself. I was still wearing Esme's clothes, and they didn't fit very well at all. I looked around the room, glad when I discovered my duffel bag on top of the low dresser.

I was on my way to find new clothes when a light tap on the door made me jump, still freshly awake and unused to my surroundings. It didn't feel like any of this was truly happening. Alice came prancing in through the door, taking my hand carefully and led me through into the living room of the hotel suite - unrelenting in her grip when I tugged the tiniest bit. It seemed I was staying in the ill-fitting clothing. I could hear a low buzz of voices coming from the TV. Jasper sat motionlessly at the desk in the corner, his eyes watching the news with no glimmer of interest.

"Thirsty?" she asks.

I smile. "Not really. Are you two doing alright?"

"Nothing we can't manage," Jasper replies, coming out of his trance just the tiniest bit.

Alice turned from her boyfriend (probably husband now that I think about it) to look at me. "I ordered some food for you, it's in the front room. Edward reminded me that you have to eat a lot more frequently than we do."

"Thank you," I replied. "That means a lot to me." Alice was gone for a second before reappearing, this time by the coffee table where she carefully sat the items. With a smile, I sat on the floor next to the table, where the delicious smelling food waited, and began picking at the freshly baked waffles, dipping them in a small glass that was purposefully crafted to pour over the food.

Alice perched on the arm of the sofa and stared blankly at the TV like Jasper was, unmoving. I ate slowly, watching her, turning now and then to glance quickly at Jasper. It began to dawn on me that they were too still. They never looked away from the screen, though commercials were playing now which unnerved me to a small degree; I quickly got over it. I pushed the tray away, my stomach abruptly uneasy at thinking to myself. Alice looked down at me.

"What's wrong, Alice?" I asked.

"Nothing's wrong." Her eyes were wide, honest.

"What do we do now?"

"We wait for Carlisle to call."

"Should he have called by now?" I could see that I was near the mark on what she had been worried about. Alice's eyes flitted from mine to the phone on top of her leather bag and back. "What does that mean?" My voice quavered, and I fought to control it. "That he hasn't called yet?"

"It just means that they don't have anything to tell us." But her voice was too even, and the air was harder to breathe. "It's only been seven hours, we have plenty of time.

Jasper was suddenly beside Alice, closer to me than usual. Or ever before now that I think about it. He's always been on the other side of the room from me whenever speaking.

"Gwen," he said in a suspiciously soothing voice. "You have nothing to worry about. You are completely safe here."

"I know that."

"Then why are you frightened?" he asked, confused. He might feel the tenor of my emotions, but he couldn't read the reasons behind them.

"You heard what Laurent said." My voice was just a whisper, but I was sure they could hear me. "He said James was lethal. What if something goes wrong, and they get separated? If something happens to any of them, Carlisle, Emmett... Edward..." I gulped. "If that wild female hurts Esme or-or Rosalie..." My voice had grown higher, a note of hysteria beginning to rise in it. "How could I live with myself when it's my fault? None of you should be risking yourselves for me -"

"Gwen, Gwen, stop," he interrupted me, his words pouring out so quickly they were hard to understand. "You're worrying about all the wrong things. Trust me on this - none of us are in jeopardy. You are under too much strain as it is; don't add to it with wholly unnecessary worries. Listen to me!" he ordered, his large and cool hands coming up to my biceps, easily wrapping around them to shake me. I could feel my breath become erratic and tears sting my lids. "Our family is strong. Our only fear is losing you."

"But why should you -"

Alice interrupted this time, touching my cheek with her cold fingers. I could smell an almost sickly sweet perfume she naturally held to her skin and relished in it. The cold felt good on my skin, though Jasper began to let go of my arms, instead taking a single hand of mine in both of his. "It's been almost a century that Edward's been alone. Now he's found you. You can't see the changes that we see, we who have been with him for so long. Do you think any of us want to look into his eyes for the next hundred years if he loses you?"

My guilt slowly subsided as I looked into her dark eyes. I relished in the calm Jasper forced onto me, letting it come into waves.

It was a very long day after that.

We stayed in the room. Alice called down to the front desk and asked them to ignore our maid service for now. The windows stayed shut, the TV on, though no one watched it. At regular intervals, food was delivered to me. The silver phone resting on Alice's bag seemed to grow bigger as the hours passed. I had called Dad later that day, telling him I was fine and in a hotel. I told him I still didn't feel well, especially not enough to come home. But he agreed, saying he supports my decision no matter what I do, so long as I made my way back to him.

I promised him I would. But I don't know if I'd be able to keep it.

Alice and Jasper handled the suspense better than I did. As I fidgeted and paced, they simply grew more still, two statues whose eyes followed me imperceptibly as I moved; reminding me of the paintings where the eyes follow your every move. I occupied myself with memorizing the room; the patterns of the curtains - one in particular in the bedroom where it was swirled with green, blue, red, and purple that stood out against the earthy base tones. Sometimes I stared at the abstract prints, randomly finding pictures in the shapes like I'd found pictures in the clouds as a child. I traced a blue hand, a woman combing her hair, a brownish cat stretching its back, a ball of blue yarn not too far away from it. But when the pale red circle became a staring eye, I looked away. I was seeing things that weren't there.

As the afternoon wore on, I went back to bed, simply for something to do. I hoped that by myself in the dark, I could give in to the terrible fears that hovered on the edge of my consciousness, unable to break through under Jasper's careful supervision. But Alice followed me casually as if by some coincidence she had grown tired of the front room at the same time. I was beginning to wonder exactly what sort of instructions Edward had given her, if he gave any or if this was just Alice's character. I lay on the bed, and she sat, legs folded, next to me. I ignored her at first, suddenly tired enough to sleep. But after a few minutes, the panic that had held off in Jasper's presence began to make itself known. I gave up on the idea of sleep quickly then, curling up into a small ball, wrapping my arms around my legs.

"Alice?" I asked.

"Yes?"

I kept my voice very calm. "What do you think they're doing?"

"Carlisle wanted to lead the tracker as far north as possible, wait for him to get close, and then turn and ambush him. Esme and Rosalie were supposed to head west as long as they could keep the female behind them. If she turned around, they were to head back to Forks and keep an eye on your dad. So I imagine things are going well if they can't call. It means the tracker is close enough that they don't want him to overhear."

"Rosalie and Esme?"

"I think they must be back in Forks. She won't call if there's any chance the female will overhear. I expect they're all just being very careful."

"Do you think they're safe, really?"

"Gwen, how many times do we have to tell you that there's no danger to us?"

"Would you tell me the truth, though?"

"Yes. I will always tell you the truth." Her voice was earnest. I deliberated for a moment and decided she meant it.

"Alright," I nodded. "Can you tell me... how do you actually turn into a vampire?" I could feel Alice stiffen behind me and I immediately backtracked. "If you're comfortable with it. I don't want you to just tell me because you think you have too."

"Edward doesn't want me to tell you that," she said firmly, but I sensed she didn't agree, her hand began to stroke my hair, feeling it softly and cautiously. As if I would slap it away in disgust at a moments notice. I nestled into it, feeling her fingers scratch at my scalp.

"He told me a little bit about it," I tell her. "About it being excruciating and painful."

"I would like to tell you more, but I don't want to be on the end of his wrath." I nod; not saying anything more. But she just sighed, almost giddy to say something and I turned over to see her expression. "I'll tell you the mechanics of it," she said finally, fighting within herself. "but I don't remember it myself, and I've never done it or seen it done, so keep in mind that I can only tell you the theory."

I waited patiently, nodding once. "If it gets too uncomfortable to talk about it..."

"It's alright, Gwen," Alice smiled brightly before becoming a bit grim. "As predators, we have a glut of weapons in our physical arsenal - much, much more than really necessary. The strength, the speed, the acute senses, not to mention those of us like Edward, Jasper, and I, who have extra senses as well. And then, like a carnivorous flower, we are physically attractive to our prey."

I give the smallest of nods, in understanding. I could see why. I mean, look at all of Fork's High! Both Jessica and Lauren swooning over the Cullens, their looks and wealth making them crazy and unable to talk to anyone about anything but those in their family. Whether it be idle gossip or malicious rumors.

She smiled a wide, ominous smile. "We have another fairly superfluous weapon. We're also venomous," she said, her teeth glistening off the soft light from the lamp. "The venom doesn't kill - it's merely incapacitating. It works slowly, spreading through the bloodstream, so that, once bitten, our prey is in too much physical pain to escape us. Mostly superfluous, as I said. If we're that close, the prey doesn't escape. Of course, there are always exceptions. Carlisle, for example."

"And if the venom is left to spread... you turn?" I quietly asked.

"It takes a few days for the transformation to be complete, depending on how much venom is in the bloodstream, how close the venom enters the heart. As long as the heart keeps beating, the poison spreads, healing any wounds, changing the body as it moves through it. Eventually, the heart stops, and the conversion is finished. But all that time, every minute of it, the victim would be wishing for death." I give a heavy sigh. All the Cullens had to go through with that? The price for immortality, I assume. But still, to want to wish for death every second of the way made me think back to darker days. I imagined the days where my old physical trainer would force me to walk with inverted legs - how I had cried for hours only to be told to stop being a baby. I wanted to die then, to pull my own metaphorical plug. I was nine.

"Edward once told me that it's very hard to do, is there a reason for that?" My heart had finally softened and the racing pitter patter had slowed, forcing myself to calm down and think of better thoughts.

"We're also like sharks in a way. Once we taste the blood or even smell it for that matter, it becomes very hard to keep from feeding. Sometimes impossible. So you see, to actually bite someone, to taste the blood, it would begin the frenzy. It's difficult on both sides - the blood-lust on the one hand, the awful pain on the other."

"Alice... is there any reason why you can't remember your human life?" I was growing more and more tired, my voice made sure I knew it as well.

"I don't know. For everyone else, the pain of transformation is the sharpest memory they have of their human life. I remember nothing of being human." Her voice was wistful. We lay silently, wrapped in our individual meditations. I reached over, gripping her relaxed hand and intertwining our fingers, shuffling closer but still far enough to not make her uncomfortable. She took me by my waist with her other one and pulled me closer, our foreheads next to each other. "It's alright," she whispered, making me relish in the comfort.

"Thank you, Alice." I began to doze off, falling into the vampire's small embrace. But, without any warning, Alice leaped from the bed, landing lightly on her feet. My head jerked up from my pillow as I stared at her, startled. "Something's changed." Her voice was urgent, and she wasn't talking to me anymore.

She reached the door at the same time Jasper did. He had obviously heard our conversation and her sudden exclamation. He put his hands on her shoulders and guided her back to the bed, sitting her on the edge. I sat up, scooting over to where she sat and begun to sit next to her. Her hand instinctively reached out for something, gripping my hand like a lifeline. But luckily not breaking it.

"What do you see?" he asked intently, staring into her eyes. Her eyes were focused on something very far away. I squeezed her hand, trying to let her know that I was here fo rher in some way or another.

"I see a room. It's long, and there are mirrors on one side, on the other is large windows, about a foot from the floor of the room, overlooking the city. There's some kind of equipment all over, I don't know what it is. It looks like two bars, ballet?"

"Where is the room?"

"I don't know. Something is missing - another decision hasn't been made yet."

"How much time?"

"It's soon. He'll be in the room today, or maybe tomorrow. It all depends. He's waiting for something. And he's in the dark now."

Jasper's voice was calm, methodical, as he questioned her in a practiced way. "What is he doing?" I scooted even closer, hoping I don't get in the way of Jasper's way. I rubbed her shoulderblade, coaxing her.

"He's watching TV... no, he's running a VCR, in the dark, in another place."

"Can you see where he is?"

"No, it's too dark."

"And the mirror room with the equipment, what else is there?"

"Just the mirrors, and windows, it's... its workout equipment. An elliptical, treadmill. And there's a black table with a big stereo and a TV. He's touching the VCR there, but he doesn't watch the way he does in the dark room. This is the room where he waits." Her eyes drifted, then focused on Jasper's face.

"There's nothing else?"

She shook her head. They looked at each other, motionless.

"So... something's changed," I ask a little baffled at how quick the whole moment past.

Neither of them answered for a moment, then Jasper turned to look at me with a nod.

"He's made a decision that will lead him to the mirror room, and the dark room," Jasper confirms for me.

"But we don't know where those rooms are?" I prod a bit, my eyebrows furrowing.

"No."

"But we do know that he won't be in the mountains, Mount Logan to be specific, being hunted by the others. He'll elude them." Alice's voice was bleak.

"Should we call them?" I asked. They traded a serious look, undecided. And then the phone rang. Alice was across the room before I could lift my head to look at it, her body still felt like it was in my grip. She pushed a button and held the phone to her ear, but she didn't speak first.

"Carlisle," she breathed. She didn't seem surprised or relieved, the way I felt.

"Yes," she said, glancing at me. She listened for a long moment. "I just saw him." She described again the vision she'd seen, trying to tell them as much as possible in a quick voice. "Whatever made him get on that plane... it was leading him to those rooms." She paused. "Yes," Alice said into the phone, and then she spoke to me. "Gwen?"

She held the phone out toward me. I stood up from the edge of the bed, walking over to her, tentatively taking it out of her hands. I still gripped the hand that gave it to me, giving it the hardest squeeze I could manage for reassurance. "Thank you," I tell her. Not really about the phone, but for everything in general. "Hello?" I spoke into the receiver.

"Gwen," Edward said.

"Edward," I took a deep breath. "Everyone alright? Is everyone okay?"

"Birdie," he sighed in frustration, "Can you just worry about yourself, for just a single _moment."_ I snorted at the concept. "Everyone's alright right now. We just lost him, we think he's heading back to Forks to start over."

"Okay, where are you guys heading next?"

"We're outside of Whitehorse right now, we're going to take the first plane to you. Gwen, I am _so_ sorry - we lost him. He seems suspicious of us - he's careful to stay just far enough away that I can't hear what he's thinking. But he's gone now - it looks like he got on a plane." I could hear Alice filling in Jasper behind me, her quick words blurring together into a humming noise to my human ears.

"I know. Alice just saw that he got away."

"You don't have to worry. He won't find anything to lead him to you. You just have to stay there and wait till we find him again."

"I'll be fine. How about Dad? He's alright, right?"

"Yes - the female has been in town. She went into the house, but while Charlie was at work. She hasn't gone near him, so don't be afraid. He's safe with Esme and Rosalie watching."

"Tell them thank you for me when you get the chance," I breathed out. "Do you know what the female's trying to do?"

"Probably trying to pick up the trail. She's been all through the town during the night. Rosalie traced her through the private airport, all the roads around town, the school... she's digging, Gwen, but there's nothing to find."

"Alright, alright." I took a deep breath. "Okay."

"If the tracker gets anywhere near Forks, we'll have him."

"I miss you," I whispered, sounding like a lovesick girl. And maybe I am, oh gosh... I swore to myself a _lifetime_ ago I would never become this kind of person after reading those horrible romance serials. Now, look at me. Well, in my defense, I didn't think vampires would show up either.

"I know, Birdie. Believe me, I know. It's like you've taken half my self away with you."

"You're just going to have to get it back then," I joke with him, feeling the tears well up just the tiniest bit.

"Soon, as soon as I possibly can. I will make you safe first." His voice was hard.

"I love you."

"Could you believe that, despite everything I've put you through, I love you, too?"

"Ah yes, because you decided to have the tracker on my tail." My comedic relief works and he gives a slight chuckle, though it sounds as forced as they come. "But yes, undoubtedly yes. I love you so much."

"I'll come for you soon."

"I'll be waiting."

I turned to give the phone back to Alice and found her and Jasper bent over the table, where Alice was sketching on a piece of hotel stationery. I leaned on the back of the couch, looking over her shoulder.

She drew a room: long, rectangular, with a thinner, square section at the back. The wooden planks that made up the floor stretched lengthwise across the room. On one side was glass, mirrors that reflected and on the opposite was windows, though unlike what the Cullens had, they were framed. And then, the equipment, place precariously by the staff.

"That's a physical therapy room," I said, suddenly recognizing the familiar shapes. It felt like years since I had seen those mirrors.

They looked at me, surprised.

"Do you know this room?" Jasper's voice sounded calm, but there was an undercurrent of something I couldn't identify. Alice bent her head to her work, her hand flying across the page now, the shape of an emergency exit taking shape against the back wall, the stereo and TV on a low table by the front right corner.

"It looks nearly identical to the one at Virginia Mason Medical Center." I touched the page where the square section jutted out, narrowing the back part of the room. "That's where the bathrooms were. This is for cardio, and here's some breathing equipment. Here, is the sauna. But the stereo was here" - I pointed to the left corner - "it was older, and there wasn't a TV, not that I remember. All of the equipment had been moved, the treadmill was over here -" I pointed to the side, near the windows " - and there was a 'yoga class' here. They never picked up the mats. Oh! There was a window in the private room here - so relatives could watch your progress without feeling like they were intruding on you - and you would see the room from this perspective if you looked through it, I believe. I'm not a hundred percent sure."

Alice and Jasper were staring at me. "Are you sure it's the same room?" Jasper asked, still calm.

"Like I said, I'm not one-hundred percent sure, most therapy rooms look the same to me, but I've only been to three. But if I had to guess, I'd say yeah, it is." I traced my finger along the bar that ran against the mirror. I touched the door, set in exactly the same place as the one I remembered.

"Would you have any reason to go there now?" Alice asked, breaking my reverie.

"No, I haven't needed to go to a physical therapy session for a little over a month now."

"So there's no way it could be connected with you?" Alice asked intently.

"I mean, if it _is_ the same one, then yeah, Scott works there full-time. I _might_ say hi. But not now, especially with the tracker around."

"So, it's here in Seattle?" Jasper questioned.

"Yeah," I answered, noticing the looks they gave to one another.

I settled into the sofa, nibbling on a plate of leftover fruit, anticipating a long evening. Immortality must grant endless patience. Neither Jasper nor Alice seemed to feel the need to do anything at all. For a while, Alice sketched the vague outline of the darkroom from her vision, as much as she could see in the light from the TV. But when she was done, she simply sat, looking at the blank walls with her timeless eyes. Jasper, too, seemed to have no urge to pace or peek through the curtains to make sure there was no boogeyman. Technically, I guess he could be considered the boogeyman. A vampire that could happen to be under my bed this entire time.

I must have fallen asleep on the couch, waiting for the phone to ring again. The touch of Alice's cold hands woke me briefly as she carried me to the bed, but I was unconscious again before my head hit the pillow.

I could feel it was too early again when I woke, and I knew I was getting the schedule of my days and nights slowly reversed like any other teen would. I lay in my bed and listened to the quiet voices of Alice and Jasper in the other room. That they were loud enough for me to hear at all was strange. I rolled until my feet touched the floor and then staggered to the living room. The clock on the TV said it was just after two in the morning. Alice and Jasper were sitting together on the sofa, Alice sketching again while Jasper looked over her shoulder. They didn't look up when I entered, too engrossed in Alice's work.

I crept to Jasper's side to peek.

"Did she see something more?" I asked him quietly.

"Yes. Something's brought him back to the room with the VCR, but it's light now."

I watched as Alice drew a square room with dark beams across its low ceiling. The walls were paneled in wood, a little too dark, out of date from the eighties. The floor had a dark carpet with a pattern in it, to the side was a dark stain, that deep scrubbing and bleach couldn't get out. There was a large window against the south wall, and an opening through the west wall led to the living room. One side of that entrance was stone - a large tan stone fireplace that was open to both rooms. The focus of the room from this perspective, the TV, and VCR, balanced on a too-small wooden stand, were in the southwest corner of the room. An aged sectional sofa curved around in front of the TV, a round coffee table in front of it.

"The phone goes there," I whispered, pointing.

Two pairs of eternal eyes stared at me.

"That's my old house. It's supposed to be bulldozed, I thought it already was," I told them. "It's on the Rez, it was my mom's - Lori's. She had inherited it from my grandparents when she turned eighteen, they died shortly after she turned twenty-two."

Alice was already off the couch, phone in hand, dialing. I stared at the precise rendering of Lori's family room. Uncharacteristically, Jasper slid closer to me. He lightly touched his hand to my shoulder, and the physical contact seemed to make his calming influence stronger like it had earlier. The panic stayed dull, unfocused. If they were on the Rez... What about Billy? Or Jacob? Or Quil? Or... anyone?!

Alice's lips were trembling with the speed of her words, the low buzzing impossible to decipher. I couldn't concentrate.

"Gwen," Alice said. I looked at her numbly.

"Gwen, Edward is coming to get you. He and Emmett and Carlisle are going to take you somewhere, to hide you for a while."

"Alright." I take a large breath, to calm my nerves. "Alright, he'll be here soon?"

"Yes, he's catching the first flight to Seattle. We'll meet him at the airport, and you'll leave with him."

"But, my family... he was on the Rez, Alice!" Despite Jasper, the hysteria bubbled up in my voice without my consent.

"Jasper and I will stay, we'll talk to the council, tell them what's going on."

"I can't win, Alice. You can't guard everyone I know forever. Don't you see what he's doing? He's not tracking me at all. He'll find someone, he'll hurt someone I love... Alice, I can't -"

"We'll catch him, Gwen," she assured me.

"And what if you get hurt, Alice? Do you think that's okay with me? Do you think it's only my human family he can hurt me with? If any of you guys get hurt, any one of you. I'll never be able to live with myself."

Alice looked meaningfully at Jasper. A deep, heavy fog of lethargy washed over me, and my eyes closed without my permission. My mind struggled against the fog, realizing what was happening.

"That's not fair," I mumble, trying to get away from him. I eventually got off, Jasper's hand falling from my came in and apologized, holding me, because I needed someone. Soon enough, the phone went off again. The alarm clock told me it had been just over three and a half hours. I hadn't realized I fell asleep.

I felt like a child all over again. Crying, feeling bad, bad things happening that I had no say in. If there is a god, why would he do this? Just for his amusement?

Alice was talking as rapidly as ever, but what caught my attention was that, for the first time, Jasper was not in the room. I looked at the clock - it was five-thirty in the morning.

"They're just boarding their plane," Alice told me. "They'll land at nine-forty-five." Just a few more hours to keep breathing till he was here... what am I going to tell Dad?

"Where's Jasper?"

"He went to check out." I nodded moving to my excess stuff to pack up so I'd be ready to go.

But the phone rang again, distracting me. She looked surprised, but I was already walking forward, reaching hopefully for the phone. But it wasn't hers. It was mine.

"Hello?" Alice asked. "No, she's right here." She held the phone out to me. Your father, she mouthed.

"Hello?"

"Gwen? Gwen, where are you?" Dad's punishing voice came through the line. I took a deep breath.

"Dad, I'm right where I told you. I'm still in Seattle, I'm just trying to calm myself down here." No interruptions. If Dad was truly worried he would have said _something_ by now. "Dad? Dad, you alright? You there?"

"Be very careful not to say anything until I tell you to." The voice I heard now was as unfamiliar as it was unexpected. It was a man's tenor voice, a very pleasant, generic voice - the kind of voice that you heard in the background of luxury car commercials that you would easily get tired of after it played three times. He spoke very quickly. I looked up at Alice who seemed just as surprised as me, but she refused to move. Standing like a statue. "Now, I don't need to hurt your dear ole' daddy, so please do exactly as I say, and he'll be fine." He paused for a minute while I listened in mute horror. "That's very good," he congratulated. "Now repeat after me, and do try to sound natural. Please say, 'No, Dad, I'll be fine, stay where you are.'"

"No, Dad, I'll be fine, stay where you are." My voice was barely more than a whisper. Alice began to run over the room, picking things up. She had the phone in her hand less than a second, ringing up and talking at unimaginable speed to someone on the other line, her lips merely a vibration to my eyes while she spoke on the other line.

"I can see this is going to be difficult." The voice was amused, still light and friendly. "Why don't you walk into another room now so your face doesn't ruin everything? There's no reason for your sweet father to suffer. As you're walking, please say, 'Dad, please listen to me.' Say it now."

"Dad, please listen to me," my voice pleaded. I walked very slowly to the bedroom, feeling Alice's worried stare on my back. I went to shut the door behind me, trying to think clearly through the terror that gripped my brain. Alice slipped through at the last second putting a finger to her lips. I nodded.

"There now, are you alone? Just answer yes or no."

"Yes," I lied. I almost convinced myself with my tone.

James took it in stride, overly-confident in himself and his ability to pressure someone. "But they can still hear you, I'm sure."

"Yes." Alice flitted around the room, quiet as a mouse, picking certain things up and holding them in her arms. Till she stopped at a standstill. Her eyes glazed over, looking through the wall opposite of her.

"All right, then," the agreeable voice continued, "say, 'Dad, trust me.'"

"Dad, trust me."

"This worked out rather better than I expected. I was prepared to wait, but your father isn't the brightest one in the bunch. For a police officer, he's pretty bad at realizing he's in danger. But it's easier this way, isn't it? Less suspense, less anxiety for you."

I waited, trembling. Alice finally shook herself from her daze and looked to me as if she wanted to comfort my shaking form, but I shook my head. I needed to make this seem real, I can't be calmed right now.

"Now I want you to listen very carefully. I'm going to need you to get away from your friends; do you think you can do that? Answer yes or no." Alice shook her head, telling me my answer.

"No."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I was hoping you would be a little more creative than that. Do you think you could get away from them if your father's life depended on it? Answer yes or no."

I walked over to a piece of paper, Alice's eyes following my every move. I picked up a pencil and nearly start to write. But I wasn't sure if he would hear it on his end.

"Yes."

"That's better!" he cheered with mock-enthusiasm. Or maybe he was extremely energetic at this prospect. Alice came to stand next to me, her eyes wide and questioning. I turned my head from the pencil, where it scratched on paper, hoping he wouldn't be able to hear it. _Where's Dad_?

"But, Gwendolyn, if I get even the slightest hint that you have any company, well, that would be very bad for your father," the friendly voice promised. "You must know enough about us by now to realize how quickly _I would know_ if you tried to bring anyone along with you. And how little time I would need to deal with your pops if that was the case. Do you understand? Answer yes or no."

"Yep!" I said, sarcastically, tears bottoming at my lids.

"I'll accept the ad-lib, if only to make it sound believable to the others. Now, I want you to go to Virginia Mason Medical center, you know where that is right? Answer yes or no."

"Yes."

"Of course you do, sweet little fragile human. Well, I want you to go there and head for the little physical therapy room. You know which one, your dad was all too glad to tell me. Now, I want you to say, 'I love you, Dad. I'll see you soon.' "

"I love you Dad," I told him, becoming more confident. "I'll see you soon."

"I will see you soon, Gwendolyn." And the phone hung up.

"Charlie isn't with James," Alice tells me. "He's still at home, Esme is watching him from the shadows. She's extremely good at hiding. I don't think he or the woman knows that."

I nod and drop my phone, letting it clatter to the ground. I sat on the bed putting my head in my hands. "That was the single most terrifying thing I have ever done," I confessed.


	22. Fragile Glass

"We can get him with this," I say after I calm down a bit, breathing evenly in and out.

"What?" Alice asks, bewildered at the mere idea I had put out; as if I had just admitted to being a mermaid.

"We go to the hospital. Let James think I'm alone," I explain carefully, hopefully not being on the end of her wrath. "We can't let him do this, not any longer. He shouldn't have to torment you guys, shouldn't have to torment my family, this would be the best plan. We know where he is, I know that hospital like the back of my hand."

"Gwen it would be too dangerous to -" Alice tried to reprimand me but I was having none of it.

"It's that or I'm hunted for the rest of my life, my family could die next or-or _y_ _our_ family could die." I put my hands on her shoulders, trying to shake some sense into her. "It's our _best_ chance."

Alice still wasn't to the idea of it all. "They're not just my family, Gwen." Her smooth and cool hands rested on my cheeks, brushing underneath my eyes. "They're yours too. You're one of us, Gwen, no matter what you might think." Her hands went back to her sides and she left the room in a hurry, placing luggage in certain places in the room.

I was putting some personal items away now, throwing them into my book bag. I quickly took my pills one by one, dry. It wasn't long until I got some water since it made my throat hurt. "Alice, do we have everything?" I ask.

No answer. I turn from my designated bedroom and start walking out. Alice stood there, not holding anything, not picking an object up. But she was looking into the distance, a look I've associated with her vision seeking abilities. I hurried to her side, reaching out automatically to touch her hand.

"Alice!" Jasper's voice whipped as he entered the hotel room, and then he was right behind her, his hands curling over hers, loosening them from their grip on the table. Across the room, the door swung shut with a low click.

"What is it?" he demanded.

She turned her face away from me, into his chest. "Gwen," she whimpered.

"I'm right here," I replied, not sure as to what she saw. But she was to shaken up to say any other word.

Her head twisted around, her eyes locking on mine, their expression still strangely blank. I realized at once that she hadn't been speaking to me, she'd been answering Jasper's question.

"Is she alright?" I asked, concerned for the small woman. Jasper looked at me sharply, but his face began to soften. His eyes were confused as they flickered swiftly between Alice's face and mine, feeling the chaos... for I could guess what Alice had seen now. I felt a tranquil atmosphere settle around me. I welcome it, gladly. It was one thing to preoccupy me, to stop the rising panic that had kept making its way up my throat. Alice, too, soon recovered herself.

"I'm fine," she answered finally, her voice remarkably calm and convincing. But before I could ask my next question she answered it in the next breath. "It was nothing. Just the same room as before."

She finally looked at me, her expression smooth and withdrawn. "Did you want breakfast?"

"No, I'll eat at the airport." I was very calm, too calm, despite everything going on right now. I went to the bathroom to shower quickly. Almost as if I were borrowing Jasper's strange extra sense, I could feel Alice's wild - though well-concealed - desperation to have me out of the room, to be alone with Jasper.

I got ready methodically, concentrating on each little task. I left my hair down, swirling around me. I tried to tame my semi-curly bangs but found it futile in the long run, letting it just fall as it was. The peaceful mood Jasper created worked its way through me and helped me think clearly. She still had to tell Jasper about the fact that the tracker called me, the plan I had devised. I imagine Alice still had other calls to make, such as to Edward for example.

I was anxious to get to the airport, and glad when we left by seven that morning. I sat alone this time in the back of the dark car. Alice leaned against the door, her face toward Jasper but, behind her sunglasses, shooting glances in my direction every few seconds.

At this point, I just wanted to get to see with my own eyes that our 'hunting party' was safe and in one piece. I needed a form of distraction, so I decided to question.

"Alice?" I asked.

She was wary of what to say next, why I don't know. "Yes?"

"How does it work? The things that you see?" I stared out the side window, twiddling my thumbs in my lap. "Edward said it wasn't definite... that things change?"

"Yes, things change..." she murmured - hopefully, I thought. Maybe I was misreading her meaning. "Some things are more certain than others... like the weather. People are harder to see. I only see the course they're on while they're on it. Once they change their minds - make a new decision, no matter how small - the whole future shifts."

I nodded thoughtfully. "So you couldn't see James in Seattle until he decided to come here."

"Yes," she agreed, wary again.

We parked on the fourth floor of the huge garage. Alice held my hand in a firm grip as we made our way around the obstacles. We took the elevator down to level three, where the passengers unloaded. Alice and Jasper spent a long time looking at the departing flights' board. I could hear them discussing the pros and cons of New York, Atlanta, Chicago. Places I've never seen. Places I've always wanted to see.

We sat in the long rows of chairs by the metal detectors, Jasper and Alice pretending to people-watch but really watching me. Every inch I shifted in my seat was followed by a quick glance out of the corner of their eyes. "We'll talk to Carlisle about what James said," Jasper finally utters, specifically about my proposed plan. "Then we'll decide on our next move."

The minutes passed and Edward's arrival grew closer. It was amazing how every cell in my body seemed to know he was coming, to long for his person. It almost seemed nauseating to even think of it like that, but it was sadly the truth. It made me wonder if what we had was an actual healthy relationship or... something more.

"Would you like to get something to eat?" Alice asks, and I nod, going to stand. I grab a single one of my crutches, using it for support. More of an emotional support than a physical one, a reminder that I'm here and breathing; letting my fingers tense around the object as tightly as possible. Something to hold on to in case my anxiety got the better of me since Alice seems to be extra reclusive.

We finally make it to Bigfoot's foods, a restaurant near gates N. I am immediately seated with Alice and both of us get a menu. Alice doesn't get anything but I get the omelet and it's out in less than minutes before the servers are tending to another table. I'm done eating in ten minutes and we leave the restaurant silently, watching the shadows and listening for the voices. Alice more so than myself.

People parted like water to let Alice and I through, as if we were apart of the British Royal family. I put most of that to the fact that Alice looked extra intimidating, and in addition to that of humans being naturally wary of vampires, it was an easy task. Take our school for example.

And then I saw them. Carlisle was thinking deeply - a hand to his chin and face in deep concentration, while Emmett had become engrossed in a conversation between Jasper and Edward. They were all safe. And Edward. He was standing right there in front of me and looked to be in more pain then I had ever seen him in. But he was right _there_. So I did something, something I haven't _ever_ done. Not that I could remember at the very least.

I ran.

"Edward!" I called, after a few seconds I felt the pain shoot up my legs at the exertion but it was soon forgotten when my arms were thrown over the Cold One's neck. I felt one of the icy arms I had grown comfortable with wrapping themselves around my waist and the other tangled in my hair. "I missed you," I whimpered. I felt like a child again.

"I missed you too." I tucked my face into the nape of his neck, taking in his sweet syrupy scent and letting it envelop me. I could feel the stares from other people but I could have cared less. I was soon pulled away by his hands, the golden eyes that were his were looking me over. His hands cupped my face, gently moving it side to side in search of any injuries. "Are you alright? Have you been taking your medication? What about your exercises?"

"Whoa," I began to try and rein his inquisition in. "I'm fine, Edward. Completely. And yes I have been taking my medicine." He nods taking a deep breath before leaning his head to mine. He seemed a hundred times more lively than he had last I saw him. My lips formed around his own, trying to get as close as possible without being indecent. The kiss was over far too soon than I wanted. My eyes flipped open to see him practically glaring at Carlisle behind me.

"No," he hissed.

"It's the best way to get this over with, Edward," Carlisle retaliates in a calm manner. "She won't be in any more danger after this."

Edward looked pained at this revelation, but nodded nonetheless, allowing the patriarch to lead us. "When?"

"As soon as possible," Carlisle replies, picking up a single bag and Jasper and Emmett following suit with the other luggage. "We'll go now, the overcast won't last as long as we may have wanted it too."

"Gwen," Alice grabs my hand. "We'll have you get in a cab by yourself. He'll think you're alone. But we'll be right behind you, where you or the tracker won't be able to see."

And before I know it, I'm ripped from Edward's embrace and I'm walking in another direction, Alice's hand in mine once more. It felt like I was on autopilot, I was put in a taxi, money was given by Alice to the driver. But before the car could move, my window rolled down and Edward was there, standing.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing my forehead with as much passion as he could. His eyes, unlike last time, held life in it I couldn't comprehend. Compared to the first time I laid eyes on the man he seemed as if he was such a different person. And then the car moved before I could say a word back. I looked from the back window of the car.

"I love you too," I replied, hoping his enhanced hearing could have heard me.

To my luck, the cab driver hadn't uttered a word in my direction. Or maybe he did, and I hadn't realized. I imagine if that was the case, I would be seen as an annoying and rude kid. But my anxiety could care less. I was more focused on the task at hand. I would be face to face with a Cold One that wanted to _kill me._

It's funny, I think. That the tales that were told to me in my youth would end up being a real fear of mine. But I had to be as real as possible. I couldn't let the tracker see through my facade. Not till my newfound family came, at least. My family. The Cullens. The sworn enemy of my tribe has become close enough for me to think of them as family. I hope to get to know them more, not just from the mouth of Edward, but to befriend them and their own persons.

That is, if we all make it through this.

We made it to the hospital, with a thank you I exited the vehicle, putting the sweatshirt's hood up and covering my face more. I had a small limp in my step as I moved and I saw the familiar faces of the staff. They didn't give me a second glance as I passed, another person to come for a check-up, maybe a visitor coming to see their family after a surgery. Either way, they had their jobs and wanted to get them done as soon as possible.

I saw Lin. She was helping an elderly woman walk across the hallway back to her supposed room. It was nice to see her. I missed her. But I didn't take the moment to say hello, or ask how she was doing. I couldn't. I needed to get this done, and then I would give her the biggest hug possible.

There was caution tape everywhere, signs saying how it was under construction. But no construction workers. I could only imagine, maybe they were on lunch? Or maybe something more sinister happened.

I got to my designated spot down that hall, the Physical Therapy room. It was a small room, typically used for minors - kids. There hadn't been anyone in sight in the past ten minutes of walking. All gone. No one would be able to hear the pleas of help, should they fall from my lips. It was the perfect place for it to take place.

"Gwen? Gwen? Where are you?" That same tone of hysterical panic and anger. Dad's voice. I threw open the door, running inside. Believable. I had to make it believable.

"Gwendolyn, you scared me! Don't you ever do that to me again!" His voice continued as I ran into the long room, past the equipment that had been put to the side, the voice became less frustrated and more calming... nurturing. I stared around me, trying to find where the voice was coming from. I heard him give a hearty laugh, my own prepubescent giggles coming right after it. I whirled to the sound, coming to my right, near the door of the sauna.

It was me, with my new leg braces when I was ten. I had run off, playfully hiding from my father in the garden. Mind you, the running was a slightly fast walk, but it was the fastest I had ever gone at that age. I was hiding under an overgrown bush that the hospital took out a few weeks later, but it showed me from the police officer's view. I sat in the middle of the overbrush, a wide smile on my face, missing a tooth.

"Sorry, Daddy -" I had begun to say, calling him my father for the first time I remember.

And then the TV screen was blue, discontinuing the video.

I turned slowly. He was standing very still by the back exit, so still, I hadn't noticed him at first. In his hand was a remote control. We stared at each other for a long moment, and then he smiled. I just had to wait. They would be here soon.

He walked toward me, quite close, and then passed me to put the remote down next to the VCR. I turned carefully to watch him.

"Sorry about that, Gwen, but isn't it better than your father didn't really have to be involved in all this?" His voice was courteous, kind. I needed to wait for the others, draw this out.

But I needed it to be real.

"Yes," I answered, my voice saturated with relief.

"You don't sound angry that I tricked you."

"I'm not." My sudden high made me brave. I felt almost giddy. The small fear I had in the back of my head that Dad might actually be here suddenly gone, before I could even realize it was there in the first place. Some analytical part of my mind warned me that I was dangerously close to snapping from the stress.

"How odd. You really mean it." His dark eyes assessed me with interest. The irises were nearly black, just a hint of ruby around the edges. Thirsty, I realize from previous encounters. "I will give your strange coven this much, you humans can be quite interesting. I guess I can see the draw of observing you. It's amazing - some of you seem to have no sense of your own self-interest at all."

He was standing a few feet away from me, arms folded, looking at me curiously. There was no menace in his face or stance. He was so very average-looking this close up, nothing remarkable about his face or body at all. Just the paper white skin, the circled eyes I'd grown so used to. He wore a brown jacket, under it was a pale blue long sleeve shirt and jeans. Nearly identical to the last time I had seen him.

"I suppose you're going to tell me that your boyfriend will avenge you?" he asked, hoping it seemed to me. He wanted Edward to come after him. Edward. He'll be here soon. I needed to stall. As much as possible.

"No, I don't think so. At least, I asked him not to," I fibbed.

"And what was his reply to that?"

"I don't know." It was strangely easy to converse with this genteel hunter. "He never said a word."

"And do you think he will honor it? Your last request?" His voice was just a little harder now, a hint of sarcasm marring his polite tone.

"I can only hope so."

"Hmmm. Well, our hopes differ then. You see, this was all just a little too easy, too quick. To be quite honest, I'm disappointed in this game. I expected a much greater challenge. And, after all, I only needed a little luck."

I waited in silence, letting him go on his tandem. Where were they? I looked at the windows, watching as some clouds parted to allow some light in. Shit.

"I decided not to waste my time on grabbing your father, he always seemed to be in the company of many people at once, or he was never home. So Victoria and I decided to find out more about you. There was no sense in running all over the planet chasing you down when I could comfortably wait for you in a place of my choosing. After I spoke to Victoria, I decided to come back to Seattle since you had decided to come to see your previous caretakers. When I had heard you say you were coming here, I never dreamed you meant it. But then I began to wonder. Humans can be very predictable; they like to be somewhere familiar, somewhere safe. And wouldn't it be the perfect ploy, to go to the last place you should be when you're hiding - the place that you said you'd be."

Where are they? I could feel my heart racing. My hands became clammy and my legs were becoming weaker and weaker with every passing moment, the tension my legs had begun to come close to snapping.

"But of course I wasn't sure, it was just a hunch. I usually get a feeling about the prey that I'm hunting, a sixth sense, if you will. I noticed there was _something_ wrong with your body. I just had to figure out what. So, I started searching even deeper.

"Did you know, your mother had made _videos_ of your torture? Very interesting, to see what humans would do with a little manipulation from the people that claim to love them. I watched a few, and it was pretty interesting." I wanted to get out. I didn't want to listen. "But once your boyfriend found out I had duped them, he got on a plane from Whitehorse to Seattle. Victoria was monitoring them for me, naturally; in a game with this many players, I couldn't be working alone. And so they told me what I'd hoped, that you were here after all. I was prepared; I'd already been through your charming home movies. And then it was simply a matter of the bluff.

"Very easy, you know, not really up to my standards. So, you see, I'm hoping you're wrong about your boyfriend. Edward, isn't it? But maybe not a boyfriend..." he speaks to himself, staring at the ceiling and rubbing his chin. "Maybe it's… no, no, you're human. There's no way that could be it," he says to himself in disbelief at his own thoughts.

I didn't answer. The bravado was wearing off. I sensed that he was coming to the end of his gloat. This was never meant for me anyway. There was no glory in beating me, a weak human. He wanted the Cullens. He wanted to fight _them._ I was just a pawn to get to his game.

"Would you mind, very much, if I created my own little home movie for Edward? Think of it as your mom passing the torch if you will."

He took a step back and touched a palm-sized digital video camera balanced carefully on top of the stereo. A small red light indicated that it was already running. He adjusted it a few times, widened the frame. I stared at him in horror. What kind of monster was this?

"I'm sorry, but I just don't think he'll be able to resist hunting me after he watches this. And I wouldn't want him to miss anything. It was all for him, of course. You're simply a human, who unfortunately was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and indisputably running with the wrong crowd, I might add."

"Definitely in the wrong crowd right now," I reply.

"I wouldn't talk like that," a childlike voice said behind me. I whipped my head around, seeing the recognizable red hair, covering her head like a lion's mane. "Well, maybe, what would you say?" she asks, tilting her head in a mock-innocence.

"Let her act, however, won't change the outcome." My head swiveled once more to James. Alice hadn't seen this. She hadn't seen them both, had she? If she did, would she have told me? Would I have ever done this if I knew there'd both be here? Would Edward - Carlisle for that matter - let me go if they knew that both of them were here? I felt a curl of nausea in the pit of my stomach as he spoke. This was something I had not anticipated.

"I would just like to rub it in, just a little bit. The answer was there all along, and I was so afraid Edward would see that and ruin my fun. It happened once, oh, ages ago. The one and only time my prey escaped me." James gave a despairing laugh, Victoria coming to his side at a slow pace, like cat charging up to go after her prey.

Victoria began to speak, a child's voice echoing from her lips. "You see, the vampire who was so stupidly fond of this little victim made the choice that your Edward was too weak to make. When the old one knew our coven was after his little friend, he stole her from the asylum where he worked - I will never be able to understand the obsession some vampires seem to form with you pesky humans - and as soon as he freed her he made her safe. She didn't even seem to notice the pain, poor little creature." Vicotria's bottom lip slipped out, her eyes wide with a faux-innocence. "She'd been stuck in that black hole of a cell for so long. A hundred years earlier and she would have been burned at the stake for her visions. In the nineteen-twenties, it was the asylum and the shock treatments. When she opened her eyes, strong with her fresh youth, it was like she'd never seen the sun before. The old vampire made her a strong new vampire, and there was no reason for us to touch her then. It was like an actual newborn baby, not knowing _anything_ about the world. A clean slate."

James sighed, seemingly to dislike the story. "We destroyed the old one in vengeance."

"Alice," I breathed, astonished. Her past life. That's what it was? An asylum? Oh god...

"Yes, your little friend," James said, proud of the monologue Victoria had spat out. "I was surprised to see her in the clearing. So I guess her coven ought to be able to derive some comfort from this experience. I get you, but they get her. The one victim who escaped me, quite an honor, actually.

"And she did smell so delicious. I still regret that I never got to taste... She smelled even better than you do. Sorry - I don't mean to be offensive. You have a very nice smell. Like a chocolate citrus somehow... But a good one. With just a hint of medication."

James took another step toward me, till he was just inches away, the other vampire in the room gave me a smug look of satisfaction due to the look on my face. He lifted a lock of my hair and sniffed at it delicately. Then he gently patted the strand back into place, and I felt his cool fingertips against my throat. He reached up to stroke my cheek once quickly with his thumb, his face curious. I wanted so badly to run, but I was frozen. I couldn't even flinch away at this point. This act was sending me quickly into some form of shock.

"No," he murmured to himself as he dropped his hand, "I don't understand." He sighed once more. "Well, I suppose we should get on with it. And then I can call your friends and tell them where to find you, and my little message."

I was definitely sick now. There was pain coming, I could see it in his eyes. It wouldn't be enough for him to win, to feed and go. My knees began to shake, and I was afraid I was going to fall to the floor. Did... Did Edward and them decide, I wasn't worth it? They wouldn't would they?

He stepped back, and began to circle, casually, as if he were trying to get a better view of a statue in a museum. His face was still open and friendly as he decided where to start. Victoria leaned on a pillar now, crossing her arms and ankles... as if this was a show to be watched, and be entertained for.

Then he slumped forward, into a crouch I recognized, and his pleasant smile slowly widened, grew, till it wasn't a smile at all but a contortion of teeth, exposed and glistening.

I couldn't help myself- I tried to run. As useless as I knew it would be, as weak as my knees already were, panic took over and I bolted for the emergency door that led to the fire escape.

He was in front of me in a flash. I didn't see if he used his hand or his foot, it was too fast. A crushing blow struck my chest - I felt myself flying backward, and then heard the crunch as my head bashed into the mirrors. The glass buckled, some of the pieces shattering and splintering on the floor beside me. I heard more rustling, this time grunts. Male grunts, unlike my own whimpers. I blinked my eyes open, seeing _him._ Edward, fighting Victoria, looking more angered than possible. His face was one of pure fury, but I couldn't focus on that for long. For James was upon me once more.

I heard the crash of glass and the bouncing but couldn't look in the direction I knew Edward had been thrown in. "Well, it seems your words didn't really give him much cause, did it?" He teasingly asked. "Well. Victoria can handle him for a while. You and I can have some fun." He winked.

"Go to hell," I hissed, feeling the dribble of blood run down my forehead just the tiniest bit.

"That's not nice." And before I knew it, everything I had ever worked for, everything came crashing down.

My knee.

He broke it.

His hand moved from the now dis-formed leg, a new form of masochistic expression on his face. There was a piercing, anguished filled scream that entered the air, water pouring down my face. At first, I had no idea where it came from. Then I realized, with my mouth open and my lungs exhausted, it was me. I was screaming in pain and crying for all of the work I had put myself into to have it ripped from me. "See, now, don't you want Edward to avenge you? It seems like he wants to." He tells me pleasantly. His toe nudged my broken leg and I gave another ear piercing scream. Would anyone else hear this? Would they also be in trouble if they came to investigate?

"Wouldn't you rather have Edward try to find me once I leave?" he prompted.

"No!" I croaked out, the pain - mentally and physically - becoming too much. "No, Edward, don't-" And then something smashed into my face, throwing me back into the broken mirrors.

Over the pain of my leg, I felt the sharp rip across my scalp where the glass cut into it. And then the warm wetness began to spread through my hair with alarming speed. I could feel it soaking the shoulder of my shirt, hear it dripping on the wood below. The smell of it twisted my stomach.

Through nausea and dizziness, I saw something that gave me a sudden, final shred of hope. His eyes, merely intent before, now burned with an uncontrollable need. The blood - spreading crimson across my undershirt, pooling rapidly on the floor - was driving him mad with thirst. No matter his original intentions, he couldn't draw this out much longer. This plan was not going anywhere near as planned.

Let it be quick now, was all I could hope as the flow of blood from my head sucked my consciousness away with it. My eyes were closing. I didn't want to work at this all over again. I didn't want to go through the surgeries and the constant supervision. I didn't want to _do this anymore._

I heard, as if from underwater, the final growl of the hunter that wanted my death. I could see, through the long tunnels my eyes had become, his dark shape coming toward me. With my last effort, my hand instinctively raised to protect my face. My eyes closed, and I drifted.

Far away. Where no one could come to find me.

My time was up, far before this moment. Fate, destiny, whatever you wanted to call it.

Finally caught up to me.


	23. The Demise

As I drifted, I dreamed. Maybe a form of heaven. I don't know. I think, after all the emotional trauma, it's finally caught up with me. I wouldn't dare deny it.

Where I floated, under the dark water I had managed, I heard the happiest sound my mind could conjure up - as beautiful, as uplifting, as it was ghastly. It was another snarl; a deeper, wilder roar that rang with fury, more furious than before, by any chance. Where had it come from? He was gone. He left to fight the other one. It was too late for me, far too late. It was time for me to go. I had to go.

I was brought back, almost to the surface of the conjured water, by a sharp pain slashing my upraised hand -as if I could stop one of them - but I couldn't find my way back far enough to open my eyes.

And then I knew I was dead.

Because, through the heavy water, I heard the sound of an angel calling my name, the one I had grown to love. The one I had wanted to genuinely spend the rest of my life with. That wouldn't be a possibility now. It never would be. I was dead. It would happen soon enough.

"GWEN!" He screamed, stricken with an unknown anguish an almost echo from above the water.

Behind that longed-for sound was another noise - an awful tumult that my mind shied away from. A vicious bass growling, a shocking snapping sound, and a high keening, suddenly breaking off. Another scream, this one sounded like a child, being ripped from its mother. And then it was gone, my ears unable to pick up on the footsteps and the multitude of sounds from the others.

I began to concentrate on the angel's voice instead, to let it help me in whatever direction I'd be placed in. Heaven or hell, it didn't matter. It would just be over. I wouldn't have to do this anymore.

"Come on, Gwen! Gwen, come back to me! Wake up! Come on!" he begged, taking my body into his arms. It felt like I was floating now. As if I could fly away. Does this mean I get to go to Heaven?

I couldn't move my lips now, they just became slightly parted. If I could, I would have pleaded to him, to let me go. To take care of Dad while I was gone. To make sure he was okay.

"Carlisle!" the angel called, agony in his perfect voice, a sob tearing through his chest. "Gwen! Gwen! No, oh please, no, no!" And the angel was sobbing tear-less, broken sobs. He couldn't do this anymore. Maybe he could come with me? No. No, he couldn't. That wouldn't right. He deserved to live, with his family. To meet someone less fragile, less broken. Less everything that is so wrong with me.

The angel shouldn't weep now, it was wrong. I tried to find him, to tell him everything was fine, but the water was so deep, it was pressing on me, and I couldn't breathe anymore. It would be over soon, and he wouldn't be in pain. Right? He could find someone less broken. Less hurt. It would be better. It would be better.

There was a point of pressure against my head. It hurt. Then, as that pain broke through the darkness to me, other pains came, stronger pains. I cried out, gasping, breaking through the dark pool. I didn't want this! I didn't want to come back! I don't want to go through everything all over again! Let me die. Let me go!

"Gwen!" the angel happily cried. Why would he be happy? There was no reason to be happy anymore.

"She's lost some blood, but the head wound isn't deep," a calm voice informed me. "Watch out for her knee, he broke it."

A howl of rage strangled on the angel's lips. "The son of a bitch," he growled out, the words barely discernible. I then felt a sharp stab in my side. This couldn't be heaven, could it? There was too much pain for that. Hell, it was then. I briefly wondered why I was being sent to Hell, but whatever holy forces decided it, it meant I must have done something wrong. Cheated death. I cheated death too many times, that's why, I realize.

"Some ribs, too, I think," the methodical voice continued. Carlisle. Was it Carlisle? But the sharp pains were fading. There was a new pain, a scalding pain in my hand that was overshadowing everything else.

Someone was burning me, a lighter to my hand. I need to ask. I need to ask them to stop it. It wasn't nice. They should know that, right? Or maybe they didn't. Maybe they couldn't help it. Would they be able to smell the smoke that I couldn't?

"Edward." I tried to tell him, but my voice was so heavy and slow. I couldn't even understand myself.

"Gwen, you're going to be fine. Can you hear me, Gwen? I love you." The hand that hadn't begun burning - _yet_ my mind told me - gripped his in a strangling hold.

"Edward," I tried again. My voice was a little clearer now. He should go. Get away before people discover my body. I didn't want him in jail. He shouldn't be in jail where he'd be sad. He should be happy.

"Yes, I'm here."

"It hurts," I whimpered to him. Could he stop the hurt? Could he help me fall farther into the pits of hell? To just get this all over with?

"I know, Gwen, I know" - and then, farther away from me, anguished once more - "can't you do anything?"

"My bag, please... Hold your breath, Alice, it will help," Carlisle promised.

"No," I groaned to the doctor. I didn't want him to do anything. That would mean he was trying to save me. But then the name whirled in my mind. "Alice... Alice?" I questioned trying to turn my head around to look for the pixie.

"She's here, she's here."

"The camera," I whine out.

"What?" The angel speaks, trying to understand what I'm uttering in my less than lucid state.

"The camera, Alice," I try to point, some random direction, I couldn't be sure as to where. It was the least I could tell her, before I die. Alice was good. She was sweet and only wanted the best for everyone. "James. He knew you. When you were human," I slurred. "He told me. He killed the old vampire. He killed him because the old vampire saved you. James wanted you."

I couldn't hear anything, but I could hear the squeak of surprise. "It's going to be alright, Gwen," Edward breathed out, patting my hairline.

"My hand hurts," I tried to tell him, to explain.

"I know, Gwen. Carlisle will give you something, it will stop," he tried to comfort. But then the burning intensified. It was too much to ignore now.

"My hand is burning!" I screech, finally breaking through the last of the darkness, my eyes fluttering open and the last droplets of water leaving my body. I screamed, I screamed at the top of my lungs as it hurt so much. I couldn't see his face, something dark and warm was clouding my eyes. Why couldn't they see the fire and put it out? It was an easy task. There had to be some kind of water nearby, right?

His voice was frightened. "Gwen?"

"The fire! Someone stop the fire!" I screamed as it burned me, spreading up my arm. U fekt tghe first thing of my body move, my hand formed a fist and I slammed it into the ground, trying to put it out. "Make it stop, please! Make it all stop! Let me go! Let me die!"

"Carlisle! Her hand!"

"He bit her." Carlisle's voice was no longer calm, it was appalled at the thought. I had never heard him speak like that like he was disgusted at the mere mention. But it was Edward I listened to, catching his breath in horror.

"Edward, you have to do it." It was Alice's voice, close by my head now. Cool fingers brushed at the wetness in my eyes.

"No!" he bellowed, disgusted by what had happened.

"Alice," I cried out, feeling the tears trail down my face. I wanted her cool hand. She's good. She can help me pass over. Couldn't they? It would be alright.

"There may be a chance," Carlisle said.

"What?" Edward begged.

"See if you can suck the venom back out. The wound is fairly clean." As Carlisle spoke, I could feel more pressure on my head, something poking and pulling at my scalp. The pain of it was lost in the pain of the fire that took me. I bit my lips, I didn't want to scream anymore. The tracker could still be here, and what if he hurt Lin? That wouldn't be good. I don't want that to happen to her. She had kids and a husband. She's a good person.

"Will that work?" Alice's voice was strained as if running out of oxygen - unable to breathe.

"I don't know," Carlisle said. "But we have to hurry."

"Carlisle, I..." Edward hesitated. "I don't know if I can do that." There was agony in his beautiful voice again. He should leave. It would be best. He didn't need to watch me pass. As much as I would prefer him to hold me as I go, he didn't deserve the trauma that came with the event.

"It's your decision, Edward, either way. I can't help you. I have to get this bleeding stopped here if you're going to be taking blood from her hand."

I writhed in the grip of the fiery torture, the movement making the pain in my leg flare sickeningly. A familiar pain, one I felt like was a toxic friend that just kept visiting me over and over again who I couldn't say no to.

"It's okay," I say, in a much to calm voice. I realized my eyes were closed again. I opened them, desperate to find his face. And I found him. Finally, I could see his beautiful face, staring at me, twisted into a mask of indecision and pain. "It's okay," I repeat. "I can go. It's okay." I drag my right hand up and try to lift it to touch him in some way. I hoped it seemed caring.

"Alice, get me something to brace her leg!" Carlisle was bent over me, working on my head. "Edward, you must do it now, or it will be too late."

Edward's face was drawn. I watched his eyes as the doubt was suddenly replaced with a blazing determination. "It's okay," I whispered, repeatedly. "It's okay. I cheated death, it's okay." His jaw tightened. I felt his cool, strong fingers on my burning hand, locking it in place. The other one I reached up at him landed in his lap. Then his head bent over the firey limb, and his cold lips pressed against my skin. Like a sweet kiss.

At first, the pain was worse, no longer a kiss I would cherish in my last moments. I screamed once more and thrashed against the cool hands that held me back. I heard Alice's voice, trying to calm me. Something heavy held my leg to the floor, and Carlisle had my head locked in the vise of his stone arms.

Then, slowly, my writhing calmed as my hand grew more and more numb. The fire was dulling, focusing into an ever-smaller point. I let myself calm, feeling the rush I had come to understand with drugs. A pain reliever. It would help me pass painlessly. I wanted to say thank you. But I couldn't find the words.

I felt my consciousness slipping as the pain subsided. I was afraid to fall into the black waters again, afraid I would lose him in the darkness. I felt better though. Did God decide I could go to Heaven? Maybe I'll see Grandma and Grandpa Swan? Aunt Sarah would be there too. I can tell her what everyone's been doing if she hadn't already seen. How her daughters had grown up and gone to college, Rebecca was married and living in Hawaii. How Rachel was studying law. How her only son was more than she could have ever comprehended. Jacob was a sweetheart, my favorite cousin. I hope he'll be okay. He will be. Billy will be better too. I'll tell Aunt Sarah all about it.

And I could watch Dad. Make sure he doesn't do anything reckless. He was always a troublemaker. It's funny. How he became a cop after being such a rebel in his youth from what Billy had always told me.

"It's okay, Gwen. Everything's okay," a voice pulled me out of my reprieve.

"Edward," I groaned out, my plans dispersing and leaving my mind.

"He's right here, Gwen."

"Edward," I sigh, delirious. "Edward you're alright, right? You're okay?"

"I'm fine," His voice was strained but somehow triumphant.

"You're going to stay?" I ask. _Stay till I go?_

"I will, I'll stay with you."

I sighed contentedly. The fire was gone, the other pains dulled by a sleepiness seeping through my body. I was tired.

"Is it all out?" Carlisle asked from somewhere far away.

"Her blood tastes clean," Edward said quietly. "I can taste the morphine."

"Gwen?" Carlisle called to me.

I tried to answer. "What's up?" I sighed out.

"Is the fire gone?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "I don't feel it. Do you feel it?"

I heard a small chuckle and fingers threading through my hair.

"I love you," Edward tells me, instead of answering my question.

"I know," I breathed, so tired. "I love you too. This plan didn't work out so well, did it?"

I heard my favorite sound in the world: Edward's quiet laugh, weak with relief. It was a hard sound to come by.

"Gwen?" Carlisle asked again.

I frowned; I wanted to sleep. "What?"

"Did you see where Victoria left?"

"No," I answered. "No, I didn't. Did she go? She better have gone. She's not nice." I took a deep breath. "Is that gasoline? It smells like gasoline. Did we leave the hospital?"

"It's time to move her," Carlisle said.

"No, I want to sleep," I complained. "It's comfy here."

"You can sleep, sweetheart, I'll carry you," Edward soothed me. And I was in his arms, cradled against his chest - floating, all the pain is gone. I was finally going to go to Heaven. I guess Edward would help me there.

"Thank you," I whimpered. "This feels good."

"Sleep now, Gwen," were the last words I heard before fading off into the darkness.

* * *

My eyes opened to a bright, white light. I was in an unfamiliar room, a white room. The wall beside me was covered in long vertical blinds; over my head, the glaring lights blinded me. I was propped up on a hard, uneven bed - a bed with rails. The pillows were flat and lumpy.

A hospital. Definitely a hospital.

There was an annoying beeping sound somewhere close by. I hoped that meant I was still alive. Death shouldn't be this uncomfortable. Nor should it be _a hospital._ It could be my own personal hell. That's a possibility. Highly likely. Now, where would the needles be? Acupuncture? That was... eek.

My hands were all twisted up with clear tubes, and something was taped across my face, under my nose. I lifted my hand to rip it off, if this was hell then I needed to start somewhere, try and reach the gates of heaven maybe? Prove I'm worthy? So I started moving it the slightest bit, feeling the cool plastic under my fingertips.

"No, you don't." Even cooler fingers caught my hand before I could feel the slight burn of tape peeling off of me.

"Edward?" I turned my head slightly, and his exquisite face was just inches from mine, his chin resting on the edge of my pillow. He wouldn't be here if I was dead. He wouldn't be in hell. "Edward!" I nearly yelled, mindful of any neighboring rooms.

"Shhhh," he shushed me. "Everything's all right now."

"What happened?" I couldn't remember clearly, and my mind rebelled against me as I tried to recall what did happen.

"I was almost too late. I could have been too late," he whispered, his voice tormented. "The sun came out while we were driving, we couldn't get out of the car, not without someone spotting us. We had to improvise and climb up the fire escape as quickly as possible. I'm so sorry, Gwen."

"My dad," I breathed out. "Where's Dad?"

"Alice called him. He's here - well, here in the hospital. He's getting something to eat right now."

"He hates hospital food." I tried to sit up, but the spinning in my head accelerated, and his hand pushed me gently down onto the pillows.

"And he'll be back soon," he promised. "You need to stay still."

"What did you tell him? " I panicked. I had no interest in being soothed at this moment. My dad was here and I was recovering from a vampire attack. "Why did you tell him I'm here?"

"Your legs gave out and you tumbled down the concrete stairs of the mall where you agreed to meet up with Alice and Rosalie." He paused. "You have to admit, it could happen."

I sighed, and it hurt. I stared down at my body under the sheet, the huge lump that was my leg. My knee. "How bad am I?" I asked.

"You have four broken ribs, some cracks in your skull, bruises covering every inch of your skin, and you've lost a lot of blood. They gave you a few transfusions. I didn't like it - it made you smell all wrong for a while."

"That must have been a nice," I sarcastically replied.

"No, I like how you smell."

"What about my knee?" I tentatively asked, afraid of the answer.

He gave me a bright smile at the question, making me feel hurt at his malice before he spoke. "A near full recovery. You'll need a brace, most likely for the rest of your life. Maybe a surgery or two in the future. But for the most part, you'll be able to do everything anyone else can, just with a little bit more trouble." I knew he was sugar coating it, but honestly, just hearing that I won't be wheelchair bound for the rest of my days made me insanely happy.

I cried in triumph, throwing my hands up before forcing them down as I groaned in pain by the force in my ribs and the needles that pulled at my arms from the movement. But something caught my eye. My left wrist. "How did you do it?" I asked quietly. He knew what I meant at once.

"I'm not sure." He looked away from my wondering eyes, reaching across my body to lift my gauze-wrapped hand from the bed and held it gently in his, careful not to disrupt the wire connecting me to one of the monitors.

I waited patiently for the rest of his explanation.

He sighed without returning my gaze. "It was impossible... to stop," he whispered. "Impossible. But I did." He looked up finally, with half a smile. "I must love you."

"Don't I taste as good as I smell?" I smiled in response. That hurt my face.

"Even better - better than I'd imagined."

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

He raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Of all the things to apologize for."

"What should I apologize for?"

"For very nearly taking yourself away from me forever."

"I'm sorry," I apologized again, trying to put myself in his shoes. If I had lost Edward... "I didn't mean to almost die, you know."

"I know why you did it." His voice was comforting. "It was still irrational, of course. We should have made a better plan, did something else."

"There was no other way," I quietly reply. "It was either this or we all be hunted for however long we live. Besides, I would have done it one way or the other, if only to make sure everyone was safe and alive." Some very unpleasant memories were beginning to come back to me. I shuddered and then winced.

He was instantly anxious. "What's wrong, Gwen?"

"What happened to James?"

"After I pulled him off you, Emmett and Jasper took care of him." There was a fierce note of regret in his voice.

This confused me. "I didn't see Emmett and Jasper there."

"They had to leave the room... there was a lot of blood."

"But you stayed."

"Yes, I stayed."

"And Alice, and Carlisle..." I said in wonder.

"They love you, too, you know."

A flash of painful images from the last time I'd seen Alice reminded me of something. "Did Alice see the tape?" I asked anxiously. "It had some pretty deep information in there."

"Yes." A new sound darkened his voice, a tone of sheer hatred.

"She was always in the dark, that's why she didn't remember," I sneered. "No offense but I hate the people of the nineteen twenties. Fricking stupid." He gives me a dark chuckle.

"I know. But she understands now." His voice was even, but his face was black with fury.

I tried to reach his face with my free hand, but something stopped me. I glanced down to see the IV pulling at my hand again.

"Ugh." I winced. "I hate hospitals."

"What is it?" he asked anxiously - distracted, but not enough. The bleakness did not entirely leave his eyes.

"Needles," I explained, looking away from the one in my hand. I concentrated on a warped ceiling tile and tried to breathe deeply despite the ache in my ribs.

"Afraid of a needle," he muttered to himself under his breath, shaking his head. "You've lived in hospitals nearly your entire life, but oh, a sadistic vampire, intent on torturing her to death, sure, no problem, she runs off to meet him. An IV, on the other hand..."

I rolled my eyes. I was pleased to discover that this reaction, at least, was pain-free. I decided to change the subject.

"Why are you here?" I pleasantly asked.

He stared at me, first confusion and then hurt touching his eyes. His brows pulled together as he frowned. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" I protested, horrified by the thought. That he would even comprehend my words as to think that. "No, I meant, why does Dad think you're here? I need to have my story straight before he gets back, you know."

"Oh," he said, and his forehead smoothed back into a marble facet. "I came to Seattle to talk some sense into you, to convince you to come back to Forks." His wide eyes were so earnest and sincere, I almost believed him myself. "You wanted to meet up with Alice and Rose, to talk and have some girl time - of course, I was here with my family, Carlisle accompanying the rest of us," he inserted virtuously, "We all decided to meet at the food court in Pacific Place, where you'd meet Alice and Rose first, then Carlisle and I would follow. You fell down the stairs in the parking garage, and smashed into the frosted glass window in the stairwell. You don't need to remember any details, though; you have a good excuse to be a little muddled about the finer points."

I thought about it for a moment. "There are a few flaws with that story. Like no broken windows."

"Not really," he said. "Alice had a little bit too much fun to fabricate evidence. It's all been taken care of very convincingly - you could probably sue the mall if you wanted to. You have nothing to worry about," he promised, stroking my cheek with the lightest of touches. "Your only job now is to heal."

I wasn't so lost in the soreness or the fog of medication that I didn't respond to his touch, sadly. The beeping of the monitor jumped around erratically - now he wasn't the only one who could hear my heart misbehave.

"That's going to be embarrassing," I muttered to myself.

He chuckled, and a speculative look came into his eye. "Hmm, I wonder... You once told me, that your cousin did something similar," he murmured.

He leaned in slowly; the beeping noise accelerated wildly before his lips even touched me. But when they did, though with the most gentle of pressure, the beeping stopped altogether.

He pulled back abruptly, his anxious expression turning to relief as the monitor reported the restarting of my heart.

"It seems that I'm going to have to be even more careful with you than usual." He frowned.

"I was not finished kissing you," I complained. "Don't make me come over there. I'll do it."

He grinned and bent to press his lips lightly to mine. The monitor went wild, more than what Jacob had once done.

But then his lips were taut. He pulled away.

"I think I hear your dad," he said, grinning again.

"Don't leave me," I groaned, an irrational surge of panic flooding through me. I couldn't let him go - he might disappear from me again. And then this hell would restart and... well, I wasn't completely convinced this was real just yet.

He read the terror in my eyes for a short second. "I won't," he promised solemnly, and then he smiled. "I'll take a nap."

He moved from the hard plastic chair by my side to the familiar grayish-brown recliner at the foot of my bed, leaning it all the way back, and closing his eyes. He was perfectly still.

"Don't forget to breathe," I whispered sarcastically. He took a deep breath, his eyes still closed. "And maybe add a bit of snoring while you're at it." He made this faux-snoring noise, causing me to naturally erupt in laughter, the heart monitor spiking the slightest bit.

I could hear Dad now. He was talking to someone, maybe a nurse, and he sounded tired and upset. I wanted to jump out of the bed and run to him, to calm his nerves, promise that everything was fine. But I wasn't in any sort of shape for jumping, so I waited impatiently for him to enter the room.

The door opened a crack, then complete as he walked in, silently closing the door behind him.

"Dad!" I whispered, my voice full of love and relief.

He took in Edward's still form on the recline and tiptoed to my bedside.

"He never leaves, does he?" he grumbled, just the tiniest bit mad at his person being here.

"Dad." I tried to put my arms out, to invite him for a hug. He all but jumped into my arms, holding me and tucking me into his chest.

"You're never leaving my sight, you got that? I don't like seeing you back in a hospital bed, this is the second time since I got you back, no way in hell am I going to see you like this again, you hear me?"

I could feel the pain he had deep in his chest, tears brimming on the bottom lids of his eyes. "I'm sorry, Dad. But everything's fine now, it's okay," I comforted him, squeezing him tighter.

"I'm just glad... to finally see your eyes open." He pulled away and decided to sit on the edge of my bed a little ways from myself, but never losing contact. His hand gently slotted itself into my own and held as tight as he could without disrupting the tubes connected to the top of my hand.

I suddenly realized I didn't have any idea when it was. What day or the time, just that I was alive. That Daddy was here with me now. "How long have they been closed?"

"It's Friday, girly, you've been out for a while."

"Friday?" I was shocked. It had been Tuesday when this all went down. Or maybe Wednesday...

"They had to keep you sedated for a while, kid - you've got a lot of injuries." He glanced at my leg.

"I know." I could feel them. "What about my knee?" I feigned ignorance.

"You're lucky Dr. Cullen was there. It would have been a lot worse," he solemnly answers. "Once it heals up a bit, you're going to need to wear the leg brace again, you remember the one you wore when you were... what, ten? Twelve?" I remembered, but I remembered the video. I tried to keep my face from showing emotion to that memory.

"Nice," I nod, then wincing.

"What hurts?" he demanded anxiously, turning back to me from his hand that was playing with the fabric of his flannel. Edward's eyes flashed to my face at this.

"It's fine," I assured them. "I just have to remember not to move." Edward lapsed back into his phony slumber.

"So, we need to have a talk," Dad demands.

Uh-oh. "What about?" I asked, sounding as sheepish as I felt.

"I think that boy is in love with you," he accused, keeping his voice low in an attempt to let Edward sleep.

"Do you now?" I teasingly reply.

"And how do you feel about him?" He seemed more curious about this then I had ever seen him. Dads and their daughters I guess?

I sighed, looking away. As much as I loved my dad, this was not a conversation I wanted to have with him. Ever. He once tried to give me the birds and the bees talk and I had shut that down real quick. Nevermind talking about boys with him, one I was very serious with. But I couldn't just ignore it, I loved my dad to much to do that to him. "I'm pretty crazy about him." There - that sounded like something a teenager with her first boyfriend might say, right? Can't full out say how crazily and stupidly in love I was. That would be bad, especially considering we've only been together for two weeks or so, or at least to the public it seemed like it.

"Well, he seems very nice," He reluctantly gruffed out. "But you're pretty young, kiddo..." Here we go.

"I know that, Dad. Don't worry about it. It's just a crush," I soothed his worries. "It probably won't turn into anything more than a regular high school relationship."

"That's right," He agreed, easily pleased with my answer.

"Or once I'm eighteen we can just go and elope."

"Gwendolyn," Dad sternly replied, giving me a mock-glare and making me laugh and my heart monitor to bounce again. I felt my abdomen hurt again at the movement.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. No marriage. I'll forever be alone. No grandchildren for you." He chuckled, looking at the wall in front of him before looking back over to me, with a humorous glint in his eye.

"I might get _some_ out of Bella," he replies earning a guff.

"Yeah, and you'll finally manage to do that Star Trek thing with your hand." He raises it in response, a poor imitation of the hand gesture for 'long live and prosper'.

"I'll get it one day." He took a deep breath and twiddled with his flannel once more. "So, speaking of her, I got a call from Bella." I blanch back a bit. Bella never called. Or if she did it was for holidays or Dad's birthday. "She wants to be with you," he explains. "Get to know you better. Especially since she almost lost you. Renee agreed to it, and they offered to let you move in with them down in Jacksonville, Florida." I took a deep breath at the name of the state, an involuntary reaction. I glanced over to Edward, who had become far too tense to pass for sleeping. "You got your own room there, it's in the heat and maybe you can actually get that native skin of yours to darken. You look more and more like me every day. And I honestly think it'd be best for you to get out a bit, get some kind of role model that's _not_ a man - "

"Dad," I said in a warning tone, effectively getting him to shut up. "I'm not leaving Forks. I'm staying here. Not going to Florida or anywhere else. If Bella wants to see me, she can come up here for Summer Vacation. And for the role model part, I have you. You're all I need. But if you're talking about a feminine role model, I have Sue, there's also Alice. _And_ Angela. I have girlfriends now. Who I see on the regular." I made a small movement of the head in a wishy-washy fashion. " _Typically_ see on the regular.

He gave a nod, then sighed and glanced guiltily over her shoulder at the big, round clock on the wall.

"Do you need to go?"

He bit his lips and nodded. "Billy's supposed to call in a little while... I didn't know when or if you were going to wake up so..."

"It's not even remotely a problem, Dad." I tried to tone down the relief. "I won't be alone."

"I'll be back soon. I've been sleeping here, you know," he announced, proud of himself for going against my wishes like he had years past.

"Dad, you're going to mess up your back even more. You can sleep at home, maybe even a hotel - I'll never even notice." The swirl of painkillers in my brain was making it hard to concentrate even now, though, apparently, I'd been sleeping for days.

"I didn't do it when you were a regular here, I won't start now," he tells me. "Besides, there seems to be more crime in the area than usual."

"Crime?" I asked, taken aback.

"Yeah," he tells me with a nod. "Your old physical therapy room was caught on fire, at first everyone thought it was electrical, there's some construction going on there. Turns out, it was arson. And SPD thinks it's related to a car theft, a Bugatti was found in the alley, near the fire escape," he explains. He looks over at the clock once more before back at me, patting me lovingly on the forehead, one of the only places not completely covered with bandages. "I'll be back soon sweet pea."

"Love you Dad," I tell him.

"I love you too, Gwen. And try not to hurt yourself walking anymore, I don't want to lose you." He moves further through the room and I could hear him mutter "I can't lose you." And with that, he was out of the room.

Edward's eyes stayed closed, but a wide grin flashed across his face. An unknown nurse came bustling in then to check all my tubes and wires. Soon enough the nurse was checking the paper readout on my heart monitor. "Are you feeling anxious, honey? Your heart rate got a little high there."

"I'm fine," I assured her. "Just a bit startled by being in a hospital again." She gave me a look of pure pity. Eck.

"I'll tell your RN that you're awake. She'll be in to see you in a minute." As soon as she closed the door, Edward was at my side.

"You stole a car?" I raised my eyebrows, ready to hit the vampire, damn the consequences.

He smiled, unrepentant. "It was a good car, very fast."

I snorted, rolling my eyes. I decided to skim over that little detail. "How was your nap?"

"Interesting." His eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" I implored.

He looked down while he answered. "I'm surprised. I thought Florida... and to see your sister... well, I thought that's what you would want."

I stared at him uncomprehendingly. "But you'd be stuck inside all day in Florida. You'd only be able to come out at night, just like a real vampire."

He almost smiled, but not quite. And then his face was grave. "I would stay in Forks, Gwen. Or somewhere like it," he explained. "Someplace where I couldn't hurt you anymore."

It didn't sink in at first. I continued to stare at him blankly as the words one by one clicked into place in my head like a ghastly puzzle. I was barely conscious of the sound of my heart accelerating, though, as my breathing became heavier and harder, I was aware of the sharp aching in my protesting ribs.

He didn't say anything; he watched my face warily as the pain that had nothing to do with broken bones, pain that was infinitely worse, threatened to crush me. And then another nurse walked purposefully into the room. Edward sat still as stone as she took in my expression with a practiced eye before turning to the monitors.

"Time for more pain meds, sweetheart?" she asked kindly, tapping the IV feed.

"No, no," I mumbled, trying to keep the agony out of my voice. "I don't need anything." I couldn't afford to close my eyes now, not before _fighting_ Edward on this.

"No need to be brave, honey. It's better if you don't get too stressed out; you need to rest." She waited, but I just shook my head.

"Okay," she sighed. "Hit the call button when you're ready." And with a sashay of her hips, she was out the door.

His cool hands were on my face; I stared at him with wild eyes.

"Shhh, Gwen, you need to calm down."

"Don't leave me," I begged in a broken voice. "Please?"

"I won't," he promised. "Now relax before I call the nurse back to sedate you." But I couldn't relax. It was a disgustingly unhealthy feeling in my chest of the thought of him leaving. "Gwen." He stroked my face anxiously. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here for you, I promise. So long as it's best for you." He put his hands on either side of my face and brought his face close to mine. His eyes were wide and serious. "I'm not leaving you."

The coldness of his hands was extremely soothing. It seemed to ease the ache of my breathing. He continued to hold my gaze while my body slowly relaxed and the beeping returned to a normal pace. His eyes were dark, closer to black than gold today.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yes," I said cautiously.

He shook his head and muttered something unintelligible.

"Why did you say that?" I whispered, trying to keep my voice from shaking. "Are you tired of having to save me all the time? Do you want me to go away?"

"No, I don't want to be without you, Gwen, of course not. Be rational. And I have no problem with saving you, either - if it weren't for the fact that I was the one putting you in danger... that I'm the reason that you're here.

"Barely." His voice was just a whisper now. "Covered in gauze and plaster and hardly able to move. And your leg..."

"I wasn't referring to my most recent near-death experience," I said, growing irritated. "I was thinking of the others - you can take your pick. If it weren't for you, I would be rotting away in the Forks cemetery six feet under well over a month ago."

He winced at my words, but the haunted look didn't leave his eyes.

"That's not the worst part, though," he continued to whisper. He acted as if I hadn't spoken. "Not seeing you there on the floor... crumpled and broken." His voice was choked. "Not thinking I was too late. Not even hearing you scream in pain - all those unbearable memories that I'll carry with me for the rest of eternity. No, the very worst was feeling... knowing that I couldn't stop. Believing that I was going to kill you myself."

"But you didn't," I sneer, trying to get my point across.

"I could have. So easily."

I knew I needed to stay calm... But he was doing it again. Assuming he was the monster in all of this. "You promised me," I tell him.

"What?"

"You know what." I was starting to get angry now. He was so stubbornly determined to dwell on the negative.

He heard the change in my tone. His eyes tightened. "I don't seem to be strong enough to stay away from you, so I suppose that you'll get your way... whether it kills you or not," he added roughly.

"Good." He hadn't promised, though - a fact that I had not missed. He had decided to break it. Well, I won't stand for it... not that I could stand, really. I had no strength left to control the anger. "You told me how you stopped... now I want to know why," I demanded.

"Why?" he repeated warily.

"Why you did it. Why didn't you just let the venom spread? By now I would be just like you, wouldn't I?"

Edward's eyes seemed to turn flat black, and I remembered that this was something he'd never intended me to know. Alice must have been preoccupied with the things she'd learned about herself... or she'd been very careful with her thoughts around him - clearly, he'd had no idea that she had filled me in on the mechanics of vampire conversions. He was surprised and infuriated. His nostrils flared, his mouth looked as if it was chiseled from stone.

He wasn't going to answer, that much was clear.

"I'll be the first to admit that I have no experience with relationships," I said. "But it just seems logical... a man and woman have to be somewhat equal... as in, one of them can't always be swooping in and saving the other one. They have to save each other equally. I'm an independent woman and I want to help you as much as you help me."

He folded his arms on the side of my bed and rested his chin on his arms. His expression was smooth, the anger reined in. Evidently, he'd decided he wasn't angry with me. I hoped I'd get a chance to warn Alice before he caught up with her.

"You have saved me," he said quietly not explaining more on the subject.

"I want to help you, if you were in trouble, I want to be able to keep you from trouble."

"You don't know what you're asking." His voice was soft; he stared intently at the edge of the pillowcase.

"I think I do."

"Gwen, you don't know. I've had almost ninety years to think about this, and I'm still not sure."

"Do you wish that Carlisle hadn't saved you?"

"No, I don't wish that." He paused before continuing. "But my life was over. I wasn't giving anything up."

"So you're saying I'm giving everything up?"

He was very calm, though. Decided it all with a single nod. "I can't do it, Gwen. I won't do that to you."

"Do I get a choice?" I asked.

"Do you want to be separated from Charlie for the rest of his life?

Minutes passed in silence as I struggled to answer his question. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I closed it again. He waited, and his expression became triumphant because he knew I had no true answer.

"Exactly," he snapped. "And I won't end your life for you."

"If you're waiting for me to be on my deathbed, I've got news for you! I was just there!"

"You're going to recover," he reminded me.

I took a deep breath to calm myself, ignoring the spasm of pain is triggered. I stared at him, and he stared back. There was no compromise in his face. "No," I said slowly. "I'm not."

His forehead creased. "Of course you are. You may have a scar or two..."

"You're wrong," I insisted. "I'm going to die."

"Really, Gwen." He was anxious now. "You'll be out of here in a few days. Two weeks at most."

I glared at him. "I'm not going to die right now ... but I'm going to die one day. Every minute of every hour, I get closer to death."

He frowned as what I was saying sunk in, pressing his long fingers to his temples and closing his eyes. "That's how it's supposed to happen. How it should happen. How it would have happened if I didn't exist - and I shouldn't exist."

I snorted. He opened his eyes in surprise. "That's stupid. That's like going to someone who's just won the lottery, taking their money, and saying, 'Look, let's just go back to how things should be. It's better that way.' And I'm not buying it."

"I'm hardly a lottery prize," he growled.

"That's right. You're much better," I say in a condescending tone.

He rolled his eyes and set his lips. "Gwen, we're not having this discussion anymore. I refuse to damn you to an eternity of night and that's the end of it."

I took a deep breath. I needed to calm down. "Alright. That's what you want?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Then that's how it'll be." I nod, trying to calm myself as much as possible. "So where does that leave us?" I wondered aloud.

He chuckled humorlessly. "I believe it's called an impasse."

I sighed, heavily. "Ouch," I muttered, finally realizing the pain in my ribs.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, eyeing the button for the nurse.

"I'm fine," I lied, ready to rip the button away from his reach.

"I don't believe you," he said gently, a smirk appearing on his face.

"I'm not going back to sleep."

"You need rest. All this arguing isn't good for you."

"So give in," I hinted.

"Nice try." He reached for the button.

I struggled to move my hand, to rip the cord from his own."Don't you dare!"

He ignored me.

"Yes?" the speaker on the wall squawked.

"I think we're ready for more pain medication," he said calmly, ignoring my furious expression and the light hit on his shoulder that pulled on the IV's needle in my hand.

"I'll send in the nurse." The voice sounded very bored and exhausted. Poor woman.

"Gwen, you're in pain. You need to relax so you can heal. Why are you being so difficult? They're not going to put any more needles in you now."

"I'm not afraid of the needles," I mumbled. "I'm afraid to close my eyes."

Then he smiled his crooked smile, and took my face between his hands. "I told you I'm not going anywhere. Don't be afraid. As long as it makes you happy, I'll be here."

I smiled back, ignoring the ache in my cheeks. "You're talking about forever, you know."

"Oh, you'll get over it - it's just a crush."

I shook my head in disbelief- it made me dizzy. "I was shocked when Dad swallowed that one. I know you know better."

"That's the beautiful thing about being human," he told me. "Things change."

My eyes playfully narrowed. "Don't hold your breath on that changing." He was laughing when the nurse came in, brandishing a syringe.

"Excuse me," she said brusquely to Edward. He got up and crossed to the end of the small room, leaning against the wall. He folded his arms and waited. I kept my eyes on him, still apprehensive. He met my gaze calmly. "Here you go, honey." The nurse smiled as she injected the medicine into my tube. "You'll feel better now."

"Thanks," I mumbled, unenthusiastic. It didn't take long. I could feel the drowsiness trickling through my bloodstream almost immediately, the warmth of medication spreading through my veins quickly.

"That ought to do it," she muttered as my eyelids drooped.

She must have left the room, because something cold and smooth touched my face. "Stay." The word was slurred.

"I will," he promised. His voice was beautiful, like a lullaby. "Like I said, as long as it makes you happy... as long as it's what's best for you."

I tried to shake my head, but it was too heavy. "'S not the same thing," I mumbled.

He laughed. "Don't worry about that now, Gwen. You can argue with me when you wake up."

I think I smiled. '"Kay."

I could feel his lips at my ear now. "I love you," he whispered.

"Me, too."

"I know," he laughed quietly.

I turned my head slightly... searching. He knew what I was after. His lips touched mine gently before pulling away.

"Thanks," I giggled.

"Anytime."

I wasn't really there at all anymore. But I fought against the stupor weakly. There was just one more thing I wanted to tell him.

"Edward?" I struggled to pronounce his name clearly.

"Yes?"

"I love you," I mumbled.

And then the drugs closed over me.


End file.
